Thunder, drama, and high-speed action lit up the final round of the 2025 Motul Summer Night Series, as champions were crowned, tempers flared and the night sky exploded with fireworks to close out an unforgettable season.
Motul Summer Night Series #SNS05 threw up a range of curveballs, with wet weather at every round plus a contentious double booking (with a triathlon series) – which caused round two to be compressed into a single day/night meeting. There were some innovations as well, including broadcaster Blend Line TV streaming on the Saturday night. Consistency paid off at #SNS05, with Jonathan Nahlous clinching the Pirelli F1 Unlimited and Dom DeLeon the F2.
Sydney summer rain returned for the final round of the 2025 Motul Summer Night Series, where Jonathan Nahlous was crowned the overall Pirelli F1 Unlimited champion with Josh Brookes second and Jack Favelle third. “I’m ecstatic to kick the year off on such a high, not only to have achieved this on the R1 but to share the podium with the legendary Josh Brookes and my dear friend Jack Favelle,” Nahlous said. Favelle, who is making his debut in the Superbike class in 2025, lives close by to Nahlous and the pair often train together. “Jack knows his way around the gym and that’s been helping me a lot, I’m feeling a lot stronger and ready to race.”
With clear weather on Friday, Harrison Voight took his McMartin Ducati V4 R to pole position and a clean sweep of wins, clearing out at the lights and never troubled by the chasing pack. “The bike worked great all night, I had pole and good starts and just went hard for the wins,” Voight said. Nahlous only missed the podium once over the two nights, denied by Sean Condon in race two on Friday.
Voight took his McMartin Ducati V4 R to pole position and a clean sweep of wins on the Friday
For two-time BSB champion Brookes, this year was his third consecutive Motul Summer Night Series but his first riding a Honda. “I wanted to do the night series on a Honda to ready myself for the year ahead, but the fact that there is no Honda superbike presence in Australia meant I couldn’t step into an existing team; I had to build the bike myself in my own home garage.” Brookes has documented his bike build on his YouTube channel, where he detailed the electronic problems that ended his weekend early. “The issues first appeared at Phillip Island a few weeks ago. I had to race the bike in ‘Dyno mode’, which dials back all the electronic aids. It suits me because it emulates, in a crude way, how we have to ride in BSB.”
With the opening round only two weeks away, most of the ASBK riders opted out of the wet Saturday night – including Addicted to Track’s Anthony West, but he said the team were very well placed for the upcoming season. “There is nothing like time on the bike to physically prepare yourself for a race season. Some people like the gym, some like cycling or whatever, but for me I feel like the best way to prepare is to ride and race. We’ve been lucky these last two years to get plenty of that.”
Teammate Ryan Yanko did brave the weather on Saturday and was rewarded with victory in race two. The Stop and Seal team were out in force on Friday only, providing much needed track time for Tom Toparis. “It was a bit of a difficult night but it was our first test for 2025, to be fair. In the end we got a few issues ironed out.”
Toparis gained some much-needed track time on the Friday
One of the issues Toparis was referring to is the adaptation to Michelin rubber, with teammates Arthur Sissis and Cru Halliday both acknowledging the task ahead. “For me the biggest thing is getting used to the Michelins. I’ve ridden on Pirelli for so long. These tyres are great but it’s just going to take a bit of time, and we don’t have much of that left before the first round,” Sissis said.
Other notable ASBK riders having a final hit out were Glenn Allerton and Matt Walters. Both only rode on Friday night, with Allerton saying it was a valuable test for the new MoTeC ECU on his Superbike Associates Ducati V4 R.
In the Pirelli Unlimited F2 class, Dominic DeLeon (AT1 Pro Race Suits) won every race of the final two nights, leading home a 23-rider field to secure the overall points trophy and also the AMCN Most Improved Club Rider award.
Matt O’Connell presented DeLeon with the AMCN Most Improved Club Rider award
“I hadn’t had a chance to ride much before this series. I was a bit surprised with the result because I just turned up and raced,” DeLeon said, adding, “The whole series is so convenient because it means you need minimal time off work. I love racing at this track at night.” DeLeon beat home Christopher Dunne with Tim Griffith third.
The AGV 600cc class provided the evening fireworks on Friday after Jake Farnsworth stormed into the Stop and Seal garage to deliver a blast to Archie McDonald. Farnsworth took issue with McDonald holding him up during the race, in an effort to secure maximum points for his Stop and Seal teammate Glenn Nelson.
Farnsworth believed McDonald had crossed a line when it came to safety, with the whole garage involved in the heated discussion for about 15 minutes. In the end, it made no difference as the consistency of Farnsworth gave him the overall points win for the series.
“This has been a strong lead into the ASBK season,” Farnsworth said. “Last year I think I rode a little bit conservatively, trying to make sure of finishing races. This year will be about finding that happy medium between bringing it home and finding that extra few tenths to win races.”
Nelson took second in the points overall, while his Stop and Seal teammate Jack Mahaffy chimed in for three race wins on the Friday night. Wet weather expert Will Nassif (MotoGo Yamaha ) showed he will be a threat in his rookie Supersport season, taking out both races in tricky conditions on Saturday night.
Wet conditions, Nassif? Yes please!
Olly Simpson took one podium and a string of solid results in preparation for his maiden season on the BC Performance Kawasaki Ninja 636, but Kelvin Reilly said the team required every bit of time available. “The tyres are one challenge, switching to Pirelli, but the bikes are brand new. Even though they are the same as last year, it just takes time to get them sorted.”
The team will field two riders this year, with Taree’s Hayden Nelson also scoring a podium on Saturday night.
In the F2 category, Kristian O’Donnell (Adventure Powersports and Outdoor) took out the overall series points win, chiming in with three straight wins on Friday night and two runner-up placings on Saturday. Christian Rossi (Rossi Moto Works) picked up second place in the points and took a podium in every race over the two evenings. Bryce Thompson (Top Tune Motorcycles) took both race wins in the wet on Saturday.
(L-R) Bryce Thompson, Kristian O’Donnell and Christian Rossi
The Kabuto 400cc and Falco Formula St. George classes made their lone appearance for the series at the final round, with World Supersport 300-bound Carter Thompson taking out all three Formula St. George races on his Moto3 Honda. Thompson will be riding for MTM Kawasaki this year in Supersport 300 and leaves for Europe in a few short weeks to begin testing.
(L-R – and smallest to largest!) Tayla Relph, Carter Thompson and Brad Gander
Tayla Relph finished second on board her Yamaha R7, completing preparations for her second season in the Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship. “Blue Marlin pools stepped in to make this round possible,” she said, “and I’m kind of glad we had one wet evening – I’ve been told to expect wet conditions at Assen this year so the chance to work on our wet setup was vital.”
In the Kabuto 400cc category, Lachy Epis took the spoils with victory in every race, again preparing to go racing in the Asian Road Racing Championship this year. Jai Russo (FuSport) took second place with Will Hunt (Project 46) third.
