Rea completes Wanneroo hat-trick

Jonathan Rea completed his hat-trick in the third Kings of Wanneroo race on Sunday and duly wrapped up the overall crown to follow in the footsteps of Australian Superbike Champion Glenn Allerton who took the inaugural title 12 months ago.

Rea was never headed in the final 15-lap race and when Alastair Seeley crashed out and Ian Lowry’s exhaust fell off, he was able to take a dominant victory of almost nine seconds.

“I’ve really enjoyed my time here at Wanneroo,” said Rea, “and a big thank you to everyone who gave me this opportunity to race here.

“We picked up a bike from a Honda dealer on Wednesday and were still putting it together on Friday so credit must go to my mechanics who worked hard and kept me upright all weekend.

“I enjoyed the track and rode 3 smart races, riding within myself and making no mistakes.”

“I talked to my team boss at Honda, Ronald Ten Kate, and there were a few guys here who he wanted me to beat, one of whom said he had plenty in reserve and, ultimately, didn’t step up to the mark, so I took great motivation from that.

“It all worked out perfectly and whilst it was a shame we couldn’t make it an Ulster 1-2-3, it’s been a great weekend and I must thank Ronald and the Hannspree Honda ten Kate team for letting me race here.”

There was disappointment when the riders came to the line as Shannon Johnson was unable to start on his KTM, the legacy of the problems he endured in race 2 but that mattered little to Rea and he grabbed the holeshot from Lowry, Seeley and Andrew Pitt.

The order remained the same until lap four when Seeley slid off, fortunately without injury, at the final turn and whilst Rea was easing away from Lowry the battle for third was raging with Pitt, Jeremy McWilliams, Daniel Stauffer and Simon Andrews having a terrific dice.

By half race distance, Rea’s lead was up to 2 seconds whilst Lowry enjoyed a four-second advantage over Pitt in third but the former World Supersport Champion had his hands full with McWilliams, Stauffer and Andrews.

Just a lap later this became the battle for third as Lowry was forced to stop when his exhaust fell off although he was able to get going again for 12th.

With Rea and Pitt secure in first and second, Stauffer looked like he had secured third in the closing stages but Andrews had different ideas and eased through at the final corner with one lap to go.

The BSB star held off Stauffer with McWilliams not too far behind in fifth. Cameron Keevers had another solid ride into sixth whilst behind a fine five rider battle went all the way to the line with Keith Amor coming out on top in seventh just ahead of Conor Cummins, Guy Martin and Ben Stronach.

Ian Lougher took 13th with Ryan Farquhar two places further back, the Irish National champion entertaining the crowds with wheelies after being given a 15-second penalty for a jump start.

The overall result saw Rea take a maximum 75 points with Pitt taking full advantage of Lowry and Seeley’s misfortune to claim second. The results saw a three way tie for third overall with Lowry, Stauffer and Andrews sharing the place with McWilliams just a few points further back in sixth.

Race 3 Result
1 Jonathan Rea (Hon-GB)
2 Andrew Pitt (Hon-AUS) +8.635s
3 Simon Andrews (Kaw-GB) +9.332s
4 Daniel Stauffer (Yam-AUS) +11.816s
5 Jeremy McWilliams (KTM-GB) +11.967s
6 Cameron Keevers (Hon-AUS) +16.821s
7 Keith Amor (Yam-GB) +19.804s
8 Conor Cummins (Yam-GB) +20.046s
9 Guy Martin (Hon-GB) +20.201s
10 Ben Henry (Yam-AUS) +20.550s

Overall Results
1 Jonathan Rea – 75pts
2 Andrew Pitt – 53pts
3 Ian Lowry – 47pts
= Daniel Stauffer – 47pts
= Simon Andrews – 47pts
6 Jeremy McWilliams – 44pts
7 Cameron Keevers – 40pts
8 Alastair Seeley – 37pts
9 Ben Henry – 32pts
10 Ben Stronach – 30pts