Championship Gains For Pearson

Round three of the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) at Queensland Raceway started strong for DesmoSport Ducati with Broc Pearson steadily improving in each session aboard the Panigale V4 R despite a crash in FP3. Qualifying 8th, Broc raced to 8th and 13th respectively in the two 16-lap races to finish 11th overall, and improving his overall championship standing, despite a crash and corresponding stop in pit lane during race two.

Broc Pearson #4

Qualified: 8th (1:08.342) 

Fastest Lap: 1:08.342 

Results: 8-13, 11th Overall

Championship Standing: 8th

Team co-owner, Ben Henry: "That's a tough one today if I'm honest. I believed heading into the weekend, that we had a strong chance of making the top 5 and racing with the lead group, and I really still think we should have been. Broc progressed in each Free Practice session, set a personal best lap time during Qualifying and although 8th, showed strong sector times and gave us a lot of confidence coming into the race, but it just didn't happen. An issue with a breather on the fuel tank in race one caused Broc to slow up, while a small crash and quick stop in pit lane to check the bike over ruined any chance of a stronger overall result."

Broc Pearson: "We had a strong start to weekend getting faster in each session as we made changes to the bike. In qualifying, I thought we could be a little stronger than 8th, but in the end, I was only 0.687 from the pole time, and I had confidence in our race pace. In race one, I lost some track position in the opening stages and had to work hard to gain them back again. I had a small problem with a fuel tank vent in the later stages of the race that saw me give up some of that track position and bring it home 8th. With the second race, it was a simple mistake, and I dropped the bike and was forced to bring it to the pits so the team could patch it up and get me back out on track for some points. I'm frustrated that we didn't get a better result here this weekend, and I feel lucky that we actually gained a position in the championship."

Team co-owner, Troy Bayliss: "We had some pretty high, but realistic expectations this weekend based on the Sydney results and the way Broc tested, but in the end we fell short which is frustrating. But in the end, we're on a program of developing, and we believe that Broc has what it takes to make those steps forward if we can give him the tools he needs. Crashes happen when riders are doing their job and trying hard and there's nothing wrong with that, it's a part of racing so now we'll get the bikes back to Cube and start preparing for Darwin."

DesmoSport Ducati's focus now turns to Darwin on June 16-18 as the championship supports Supercars at Hidden Valley. With Broc having never ridden the circuit, the team will be working hard to do everything possible to prepare for a circuit that the team has traditionally had strong results at before.

Make sure you follow the team's social media to stay up to date:

@DesmoSportDucati

2023 Australian Superbike Championship

• Round 1: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC Feb 24-26 10-9-11: 10th Overall
• Round 2: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW Mar 24-25 9-6: 7th Overall
• Round 3: Queensland Raceway, QLD Apr 28-30 8-13: 11th Overall
• Round 4: Hidden Valley Raceway, NT Jun 16-18
• Round 5: Morgan Park Raceway, QLD Jul 14-16
• MotoGP: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC Oct 20-22 (non-championship)
• Round 6: Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC Oct 27-29
• Round 7: The Bend Motorsports Park, SA Dec 1-3