Post by monty on Sept 5, 2012 21:01:00 GMT
The penultimate event of the 2012 Adelaide Masters Series took place at Mondello Park in front of another large and enthusiastic crowd on Sunday September 2nd. In glorious sunshine the Superbike and Supersport riders once again delivered a fantastic days racing, during which Waterford's Brian McCormack, riding for the Chris Dowd Racing team, moved a step closer to securing the two biggest titles in Irish Motorcycle Racing.
In the Superbike class the championship contenders were joined by rising American star PJ Jacobsen who took the win in the opening Superbike race. Riding a works TYCO Suzuki the young American leapt into a strong lead from the start while the top two in the points standings concentrated on their own battle for supremacy. McCormack came from behind to secure second spot behind Jacobsen, beating Fermanagh's Lee Johnston on his Millsport Ducati and extending his advantage over the UK resident Ulsterman.
The second race saw the same trio at the front with Jacobsen being headed by Johnston. On lap two the American rider’s gear level broke leaving him stuck in third gear for the remainder of the race and creating a battle for the lead between McCormack and Johnston. At the flag Johnston took a narrow win to close back up to the points leader. The top two now go into the final event of the season on October 6th & 7th, on the Mondello Park International track, separated by just sixteen points with three races still to run.
The Superbike Cup for Clubman riders is now closer than ever with Melvin Hollingsworth gaining significantly on season long leader Evan Delaney. Hollingsworth took two wins while Delaney could manage just a solitary appearance on the podium with third in race one.
The smaller capacity Supersport class lead also belongs to McCormack following another win in race one, backed up by fourth place in race two. Jonny Buckley from Antrim sat second in the points at the start of the day but a non-finish in the first race dropped him to third behind Carl Philips and all but finished his championship hopes. Barring a major disaster McCormack should be able to secure this title before the final race of the season.
Supersport Cup leader Luke Johnston dropped his Yamaha in race one and did sufficient damage to rule him out of race two. James Kelly profited from this to close the gap in second place in the points and now goes into the final event with a chance of lifting the Supersport Cup. Dean McMaster and Jason Lynn won a race apiece to jump into contention for third in the championship.
The final race of the day, the Adelaide Grand Final, was another cracker as the battle between, McCormack, Johnston and Jacobsen continued. The TYCO Suzuki again lead early on but Johnston battled through the pain barrier, caused by a massively swollen ankle following a practice crash, to work his way into the lead. Jacobsen and McCormack closed on him in the final laps but he had just enough left to beat them to the flag despite the lead changing hands a number of times in the closing laps. In the end it was Johnston who climbed, slowly and obviously in pain, onto the top step of the podium followed by Jacobsen and McCormack.
The Adelaide Masters Finale takes place on Saturday and Sunday October 6th and 7th with all four titles still up for grabs. A bumper entry is expected with PJ Jacobsen already working on making a return, the second visit of New Zealand youngster Jake Lewis and the first appearance at Mondello Park of the fastest female rider around the Isle of Man, Maria Costello MBE.