Racing under lights for the very first time on a shortened two-day schedule, Broc Pearson raced amongst the lead group of riders to finish the weekend seventh overall after 9-6 results, despite two red flags effecting both race one and race two on Saturday night at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Broc Pearson #4

Qualified: 9th (1:30.740)
Fastest Lap: 1:30.414
Results: 9-6, 7th Overall

Championship Standing: 9th

Team co-owner, Ben Henry: “I’m really happy with the weekend. I liked the night racing and the two-day schedule, and we started to take some steps forward and see Broc racing with the leading group of riders. Race one, although on paper he’s ninth, he actually got to seventh when the red flag came out since Mike’s (Jones) bike was on fire, and results revert to the lap prior. In race two, he got a good start and put himself in that lead group before the rain came in and we had to restart with a 10-lap wet race. I’m really proud of Broc and the team. We had some issues during Friday’s practice sessions, but we overcame them together, reset mindsets and got down to work to bring better results on track and some much needed positives to our own program.”

Broc Pearson: “We had a few little issues on Friday, things that are quite unusual and just disrupted the rhythm that we needed to find throughout the practice sessions, but the guys really worked hard all day to give me a bike that worked for me when we got to qualifying. Being able to put in fast, consistent laps, my confidence grew pretty quickly, and I felt like we would be able to move forward in the races. I made a few small mistakes in race one, and was working my way forward when the race was red flagged or ninth, and in race two, the track was still a bit wet places but went with slicks and I actually really enjoyed pushing it a little in the conditions and I was a contender in the race, but then the rain bucketed down, and with wets on for the restart, I struggled a little for grip and hung in there for that 6th place. I just want to thank the team for everything this weekend. They are doing everything in their power to give me the tools I need to go fast, and although we didn’t hit our first milestone of a top 5, it feels like it might not be far away.”

Team co-owner, Troy Bayliss: “It was great to leave the track with a smile this weekend. Although 7th isn’t where we want to be, we’re moving in the right direction. The atmosphere in the box is great, Broc’s confidence is growing both with the team and on the bike, and the team is working well together. We’re an ambitious group of people in DesmoSport, so it’s tough to not be battling for a race win just yet, but it takes time, and I’m really proud of the team, and grateful to all our team partners, fans and supporters in general for really getting behind the direction we went this season by putting a young rider on.”

With round three of the ASBK scheduled for April 28-30 at Queensland Raceway, DesmoSport Ducati heads back to Cube Performance Centre before heading to a two-day test at the circuit next week.