MOE motorcycle racer Nathan Jones went one better than his brother, Tyson Jones, by winning two out of three races in the coveted Superbike class at the opening round of the 2016 Pirelli Motul Victorian Road Racing Championships at the State Motorcycle Sports Complex at Broadford last weekend, April 9-10.
Nathan, 31, flew around Broadford’s Road Race Circuit, clocking an impressive 57.122 in Race 2, to clinch the overall win for the opening round. “Not being here for a while, we started off a bit slow in qualifying but we worked at it,” Nathan said.
“With the new tyre rule – you’re only allowed four tyres – I went with the option of using second hand tyres in both qualifying sessions where I qualified third. It all went to plan. I won the first race, and had good racing between Tyson all weekend. Tyson won the second race where I only lost to Tyson by .025 in the second race,” Nathan said.
“Ben Gotch was very fast earlier on but made a few mistakes through the races which unfortunately put him out of the last one as well. It’s been very quick and very close all weekend. It was enjoyable getting back out there,” he added.
Nathan now has a five point lead over his brother Tyson, and 16 points ahead of third place getter Dean Archbold from Tyres, just outside of Traralgon.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to Phillip Island (Round 2 on August 27-28). I’ll probably compete in the third round of the Hartwell Motorcycle Club Championships that’s also at Phillip Island in May before the VRRC,” Nathan added. “I was lacking a bit of pace in qualifying but I didn’t stress out because I know that now it’s a long championship. If I can be competitive in every race and finish every race I think it’ll be a pretty close finish,” Nathan added.
Tyson said he was very happy to get away with a win and two seconds considering his slow start to the weekend. “On Friday we were pretty rusty (in practice). It took a long time to get anywhere near the times that we were doing. Even Saturday was a struggle; all weekend really, I still wasn’t feeling all that comfortable but I’m very happy to come away with a win and a couple of seconds,” Tyson said.
“To be only 5 points down after how I’ve been feeling it’s very positive so we’ll see how we go for the rest of the competition. Nathan and I had a couple of good races,” he added. “I’m definitely looking forward to heading down to Phillip Island. It’s always good to get down there and get a few laps in. Hopefully, we have some more consistent results and a couple of more wins will be nice,” Tyson added.
Tyson will be looking forward to the Harvey Wiltshire Memorial Trophy Race, one of the oldest road races in Australia. “Some big names are on the trophy. I managed to get my name on the trophy a few years ago, and have come second to Jed Metcher and Chas Hern in the past two years. Hopefully I can get back up there again this year,” he added.
“I’d like to thank 3J Racing, Nathan, Cykel Products Australia, Pirelli and Race Center for all their incredible support throughout the years,” Tyson added. “I’d like to thank 3J Racing, Tyson, Race Center, and Cykel Products Australia,” Nathan said.
Round 2 of the 2016 Pirelli Motul Victorian Road Racing Championships takes place at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on August 27-28. For more information please visit: www.vrrc.com.au.