Hayden Nelson wins after warm-up lap chaos at The Bend

Round Three – The Bend

Kawasaki Supersport Race Two

Race Two at The Bend carried a few extra layers after a bruising Sunday morning opener.

Tom Toparis struck first in the opening Kawasaki Supersport / Next Gen contest, taking full advantage after pole-sitter Olly Simpson lost the front at turn two only seconds into the race. Simpson left Race One empty-handed, but the DesmoSport Ducati rider had shown the pace to lead the field away and was expected to be looking for a response in Race Two.

Behind Toparis, the championship stories had also tightened. Valentino Knezovic’s second place and fastest lap moved him into the traditional Supersport points lead on 119 points, three clear of Jake Farnsworth, while Hayden Nelson’s late move on BC Performance Kawasaki team-mate Tom Edwards trimmed the Next Gen Championship margin to a single point, 122 to 121.

Only ten of the 13 starters reached the flag in Race One, with Lucas Warren, Sam Pezzetta and Simpson all non-finishers, so the second nine-lap bout already had a mix of redemption, damage limitation and championship pressure wrapped into it. Toparis had the form, Knezovic had the Supersport points lead to defend, Nelson had Edwards within reach, and Simpson had every reason to make amends.

Then the weather intervened.

There was a scramble on the grid after the formation lap as it was wet, then it wasn’t, then it was in some places…

Rain arrived just as riders headed out for their sighting lap, catching out several riders before the race had even begun. The surface was treacherous in places, with some parts of the 4.95-kilometre Bend Motorsport Park circuit still appearing dry while others were clearly wet, and the grey colour of the track did little to help riders pick the difference.

A start delay followed the sighting-lap drama as mixed wet and dry conditions caught out several riders before Race Two

Valentino Knezovic, Tom Toparis and Ghage Plowman crashed at turn 17 on the warm-up lap, prompting Race Direction to delay the start and declare the track wet.

Race Two was declared wet after rain arrived just before the sighting lap, leaving riders to deal with a patchy surface

Plowman and Knezovic were able to dust themselves off and return to the pits, but Toparis’ Stop & Seal Ducati required assistance back to the garage and the Race One winner would not take the restart. Simpson was also missing, his DesmoSport Ducati unable to be repaired in time after his Race One crash. That left a depleted field of only ten starters for Race Two.

The Addicted to Track crew worked to repair Valentino Knezovic’s Yamaha after he was caught out on the warm-up lap

The Addicted to Track crew had plenty of work to do on Knezovic’s YZF-R6, replacing various parts in an all-hands-on-deck repair effort to get the new Supersport Championship leader to the grid. He made the start, but from the rear of the reduced field.

Teams scrambled on the grid as conditions changed and the delayed Supersport / Next Gen race was declared wet

With the Next Gen Ducati pair absent, Tom Edwards was the only rider from the original front row to take the start. Jake Farnsworth was sharp early, but Edwards led the field across the stripe at the end of the opening lap, with Farnsworth second, Josh Soderland third, Hayden Nelson fourth and Knezovic already up to fifth after a strong opening lap from the back.

A depleted Supersport / Next Gen field launches into Race Two after warm-up lap chaos at The Bend

Knezovic continued to charge early, moving to third by the end of lap two, while Edwards kept control up front. Farnsworth remained second and was soon the man setting the pace, lowering the benchmark to 1m57.408 on lap three before going quicker again with a 1m56.773 on lap four and a 1m56.454 on lap five.

Valentino Knezovic made it back out after his warm-up lap crash, but had to start Race Two from the rear

At half-race distance, Edwards led Farnsworth by just over half a second, but Nelson was beginning to find his rhythm. The BC Performance Kawasaki rider had been 1.812 seconds behind Edwards at the end of lap three, but by lap five that gap was down to 1.206 seconds, and on lap six it was only 0.758.

Tom Edwards led Jake Farnsworth early before the BC Performance Kawasaki charge gathered momentum

Nelson moved past Farnsworth for second on lap seven to make it a BC Performance Kawasaki 1-2 at the front. Edwards still led, but the gap was only 0.289 seconds with two laps remaining. Nelson closed that to 0.129 seconds at the start of the final lap, then made the move that mattered.

Jordy Simpson and Valentino Knezovic in the Supersport battle during Race Two

Nelson’s braking strength proved decisive. He squeezed past Edwards on the final lap, then immediately set the fastest lap of the race, a 1m55.597, to edge clear just enough. Edwards also produced his personal best on the final lap, a 1m55.922, but Nelson had done enough to take the win by 0.196 seconds.

Tom Edwards and Jake Farnsworth were part of the early lead fight in Race Two

It was a BC Performance Kawasaki 1-2, and a potentially important one in the Next Gen Championship.

Farnsworth finished third outright and first of the traditional Supersport runners, 2.773 seconds behind Nelson. That result, combined with Knezovic finishing fourth, swung the Supersport Championship lead back in Farnsworth’s favour.

Hayden Nelson worked his way forward as Valentino Knezovic and Jordy Simpson fought behind

Knezovic’s repair-job recovery ended with fourth outright and second in the Supersport class, 9.975 seconds from the win. It was a strong salvage ride given the warm-up lap crash, but not quite enough to retain the points lead he had taken earlier in the day.

Tom Edwards, Jake Farnsworth and Hayden Nelson formed the lead group as Race Two took shape

Jordy Simpson completed the top five, ahead of Josh Soderland and Sam Pezzetta, who were separated by less than half a second at the flag. Flynn Jacobs, Ethan Johnson and Ghage Plowman rounded out the ten finishers.

Hayden Nelson reeled in the leaders before striking late to win Race Two

The race was run in cloudy and windy conditions, with an ambient temperature of 18.4 degrees and track temperature of 23.2 degrees. The track was officially listed as mainly dry, but the pre-race drama and lap times told the story of a race shaped by uncertainty and changing grip levels. Nelson’s 1m55.597 fastest lap was still well away from the class lap-record pace, underlining that conditions were far from ideal.

Farnsworth’s third place was enough to leave South Australia with the Supersport points lead

Farnsworth leaves South Australia with the traditional Supersport Championship lead on 141 points, two clear of Knezovic on 139. Soderland sits third on 108, with Jordy Simpson fourth on 102 and Plowman fifth on 96.

Nelson had the braking performance and late-race pace to turn the Kawasaki duel his way

In the Next Gen Championship, Nelson’s final-lap victory moved him to the top of the standings on 146 points, four clear of Edwards on 142. Olly Simpson remains third on 108 after a non-scoring Sunday, while Toparis is fourth on 96 after following his Race One win with a Race Two non-start.

Hayden Nelson chased down Tom Edwards before making the decisive move late in Race Two in a Kawasaki 1-2 outright

BC Performance Racing also strengthened its grip on the combined Supersport / Next Gen Teams Championship, moving to 278 points. Addicted to Track sits second on 177, ahead of Stop & Seal on 146, DesmoSport Ducati on 105 and Team BWR on 85.

Jake Farnsworth, Valentino Knezovic and Jordy Simpson in the traditional Supersport fight

Race Two started with rain, crashes and a depleted grid, but ended with a clean Kawasaki fight to the flag. Edwards led almost all of it, but Nelson led the lap that mattered.

Hayden Nelson took the Race Two win and moved into the Next Gen Championship lead

Kawasaki Supersport Race Two Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Class	Time/Gap	Speed
1	H. Nelson	Kaw	NG	17:43.322	253
2	T. Edwards	Kaw	NG	+0.196	248
3	J. Farnsworth	Yam	SS	+2.773	253
4	V. Knezovic	Yam	SS	+9.975	249
5	J. Simpson	Yam	SS	+15.104	256
6	J. Soderland	Yam	SS	+23.658	243
7	S. Pezzetta	Yam	SS	+24.131	245
8	F. Jacobs	Yam	SS	+38.528	244
9	E. Johnson	Yam	SS	+44.666	254
10	G. Plowman	Yam	SS	–	–

Kawasaki Supersport Championship Points

Pos	Rider	Bike	Points
1	J. Farnsworth	Yam	141
2	V. Knezovic	Yam	139
3	J. Soderland	Yam	108
4	J. Simpson	Yam	102
5	G. Plowman	Yam	96
6	S. Pezzetta	Yam	83
7	R. Tamburini	Yam	68
8	H. Fordyce	Yam	61
9	E. Johnson	Yam	51
10	S. Nicholson	Yam	47
11	W. Nassif	Yam	46
12	S. Drane	Yam	44
13	L. Williams	Yam	39
14	A. Sarmoon	Yam	36
15	O. Short	Yam	31
16	M. Nikolis	Yam	30
17	F. Jacobs	Yam	30
18	T. Zhao	Yam	22
19	B. Quinlan	Yam	12
20	A. Chiodo	Hon	10
21	S. O’Neill	Yam	6

Kawasaki Next Gen Supersport Championship Points

Pos	Rider	Bike	Points
1	H. Nelson	Kaw	146
2	T. Edwards	Kaw	142
3	O. Simpson	Duc	108
4	T. Toparis	Duc	96

2026 ASBK Calendar

2026 ASBK PROVISIONAL CALENDAR
Round One	February 20-22	Phillip Island, VIC (WorldSBK)
Round Two	March 27-28	Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW
Round Three	May 1-3	The Bend, SA
Round Four	May 29-31	Morgan Park, QLD
Round Five	June 26-28	Queensland Raceway, QLD