2022 Official Program - Rnd 6 ASBK - Phillip Island, VIC with WSBK

WELCOME FROM MA

On behalf of Motorcycling Australia (MA), we would like to welcome fans, riders and officials to Round Six of the 2022 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul.

Thus far, the championship has been to Phillip Island, Queensland Raceway, Wakefield Park Raceway, Hidden Valley Raceway, Morgan Park Raceway and now The Bend Motorsport Park for the finale.

It’s been our pleasure to bring you the action-packed program of racing at each and every round of the Championship in 2022.

Our fans haven’t missed a minute of the race action with our exclusive television coverage through our TV partners SBS, Stan Sport Australia and the ASBK TV Live Stream.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all

those involved in this weekend’s event including our fantastic volunteer marshals, the ASBK Senior Officials and staff, for their hard work in planning and running the event, and indeed the entire season.

Thank you to our riders, teams, crew and sponsors for continuing to support the Championship through 2022.

We’re absolutely at the business end of the season and we can’t wait to see who is crowned Motorcycling Australia’s ASBK 2022 Champion.

MA wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable event.

Remember to always; Ride. Race. Enjoy!

Peter Doyle CEO

Motorcycling Australia

As 2022 draws to a close I want to take the opportunity to look back on the unpredictable year that it has been. We’ve had to be adaptable, flexible and proactive, but the reward has been a racing calendar with a strong rhythm considering the circumstances.

The 2022 ASBK Championship season travelled across 5 states and territories, with Phillip Island, Queensland Raceway and Wakefield Raceway Park behind us, we will be returning to Phillip Island for Round 7 before wrapping up at The Bend Motorsport Park in November.

WELCOME FROM MI-BIKE MOTORCYCLE INSURANCE

In partnership with Motorcycle Australia, Mi-Bike Motorcycle Insurance would like to congratulate and thank all riders, teams and crew for continuing to support the Championship. We look forward to a strong finish to the Mi-Bike Motorcycle Insurance ASBK 2022 season.

Mark Bradley General Manager  mi-bike

Motorcycle Insurance

WELCOME FROM THE BEND

Welcome to The Bend! We are proud to host the ASBK Grand Finale again in 2022 and welcome international stars such as Jack Miller and Josh Hook to our venue.

This year’s event has a global flavour to it with eight wildcards locked in to compete against Australia’s best riders in what promises to be the biggest motorcycle racing event The Bend has hosted yet.

We’ve continued to deliver for the motorcycle community offering free ride ‘n’ view with every ticket to encourage groups of friends and family to ride their pride and joy to the event.

The fans are the winners with the special appearances of Jack Miller and Marcel

Schroetter a testament to the strength of motorcycle racing in Australia.

As always, we would like to thank all the amazing volunteers and officials for their ongoing commitment to motorsport and to The Bend. We also acknowledge the support of the SA Government and the SATC for their support of The Bend’s major events.

I hope you have an exciting experience, and I hope that you return to enjoy one of the many unique events and experiences on offer at The Bend

Dr Sam Shahin MD, The Bend

8.30 8.45 Yamaha Finance R3 Cup Free Practice 1 15 mins 8.55 9.15 Michelin Supersport Free Practice 1 20 mins 9.25 9.40 bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Free Practice 1 15 mins 9.50 10.15 Alpinestars Superbike Free Practice 1 25 mins 10.25 10.40 Dunlop Supersport 300 Free Practice 1 15 mins 10.50 11.05 Sureflight Superbike Masters Free Practice 1 15 mins 11.15 11.30 Horsell Australian Sidecars Free Practice 1 15 mins 11.40 11.55 Yamaha Finance R3 Cup Free Practice 2 15 mins 12.05 12.25 Michelin Supersport Free Practice 2 20 mins 12.35 12.50 bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Free Practice 2 15 mins 12.50 13.20 Lunch – ASBK Pillion Rides 30 mins 13.20 13.45 Alpinestars Superbike Free Practice 2 25 mins 13.55 14.10 Dunlop Supersport 300 Free Practice 2 15 mins 14.20 14.35 Sureflight Superbike Masters Free Practice 2 15 mins 14.45 15.00 Horsell Australian Sidecars Free Practice 2 15 mins 15.10 15.25 Yamaha Finance R3 Cup Free Practice 3 15 mins 15.35 15.55 Michelin Supersport Free Practice 3 20 mins 16.05 16.20 bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Free Practice 3 15 mins 16.30 16.55 Alpinestars Superbike Free Practice 3 25 mins 17.05 17.20 Dunlop Supersport 300 Free Practice 3 15 mins 17.30 17.45 Sureflight

This schedule is approximate; and all starting times, length of sessions and races are subject to change; and may be changed in the event of an incident or delay in operations. All Times Listed are Australian Central Daylight Time (SA local time) * ASBK Live TV coverage ^ ASBKTV Live Stream Key:

Supersport 300 (Race) Luke JHONSTON (VIC) Kawasaki EX 400 1:47.182 29-Feb-20

Supersport 300 (Pole) Hunter FORD (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R3 1:47.696 13-Oct-18

LIVE TIMING

COMPUTIME Race Timing Systems has been the providing timing services to the ASBK at selected rounds since 1990, and has been the series timekeeper since 2004. Live timing and results services can be accessed as follows:

In pit lane and parts of the pits (local wireless network):

· Connect to the RACETIMING wire less network

· Open your web browser and type www.localtiming.com as the web address

· Follow the links to live timing, results, or other pages

Anywhere else at the venue or anywhere else in the world: · Ensure you have internet connectivity · Open your web browser and type www.computime.com.au as the web address · Follow the links to live timing, results, or other pages for this event For all your live timing results please go to Computime http://www.computime.com.au/Default.aspx

and follow the links to ASBK Live Timing. Go to ASBK.COM.AU for live timing.

Protect your entire body on every ride.

WHAT IS AN ASBK SPEC SUPERBIKE?

They’re fast, they’re spectacular and they sound awesome, but they’re also very accessible.

Bikes very similar to the ones that compete in the Australian Superbike Championship Alpinestars Superbike class can be purchased off the showroom floor by members of the general public.

Engine capacities for the ASBK machines are restricted to 1,000cc and 168kg for four-cylinder bikes and 1,300cc and 172kg for two and three-cylinder machines.

Engine modifications for the race versions of superbikes are extremely limited and Yamaha Racing Team Manager, John Redding, says the engine is not an area of major focus when it comes to performance gains for the Superbike class.

“To get a performance improvement of 10 per cent over the standard output is about as much as you can expect,” Redding said.

“You can increase the compression ratio, fine-tune the degrees on the valve seats and adjust the cam timing for different tracks, but that’s about it.

“One of the advantages of keeping the engines relatively standard is they are cheap to maintain and last a while between rebuilds.”

“Compared to the street version of the bike, the race bike will have different shock absorbers and fork internals, providing a much more adjustable setup.”

Another area of race bikes that has undergone significant innovation in recent years has been the electronic systems, which have been adapted to provide functions such as fuelling, traction control, engine braking and anti-wheelie control.

“Electronics are one of the most important areas of development and something that has become a critical factor in determining the speed that can be achieved by different bikes,” Redding said.

With the engine and gearbox both being close to standard, teams have turned to other aspects of the Superbikes to improve their performance.

“Suspension has been a major area of development on the race-spec bikes,” Redding said.

“The suspension on a street bike is compromised for ride comfort, but on a racetrack, comfort isn’t a factor – it’s all about optimising the handling and the corner speeds that can be achieved.

“There are significant advantages to be gained in having the best electronic set-up.”

The brakes on racing bikes are also upgraded, with items such as the master cylinder, brake lines, pads and discs all being replaced with race-specific items.

“In a race situation, maximum stopping power is a priority, but brake wear is much less of a consideration than it would be on a road bike, because components can be changed after every session,” Redding said.

Overall, Redding said the bikes in the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul, are much closer to road bikes than other Superbike championships around the world.

“The permitted modifications are much more limited here in Australia, which has the advantage of containing costs,” Redding said.

ROUND 1: WSBK - Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit

Date: 25 - 27 February 2022 Permit: MA 2670

Circuit Details: Approx. 4.445 km, anti-clockwise

Classes: Alpinestars Superbike, Michelin Supersport, Dunlop Supersport 300, Yamaha Finance R3 Cup, bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup, Superbike Masters

ROUND 2: Queensland Raceway

Date: 18 – 20 March 2022 Permit: MA 2671

Circuit Details: Approx. 3.126 km, clockwise

Classes: Alpinestars Superbike, Michelin Supersport, Dunlop Supersport 300, Yamaha Finance R3 Cup, bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup, Horsell F1 & F2 Sidecars

ROUND 3: Wakefield Park Raceway

Date: 22 – 24 April 2022 Permit: MA 2672

Circuit Details: Approx. 2.2 km, clockwise

Classes: Alpinestars Superbike, Michelin Supersport, Dunlop Supersport 300, Yamaha Finance R3 Cup, bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup, Battery World Aussie Racing Cars

AUSTRALIAN SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR

ROUND 4: Hidden Valley Raceway

Date: 17 – 19 June 2022 Permit: MA 2673

Circuit Details: Approx. 2.86 km, anti-clockwise

Classes: Alpinestars Superbike

ROUND 5: Morgan Park Raceway

Date: 5 – 7 August 2022 Permit: MA 2674

Circuit Details: Approx. 2.415km, clockwise

ROUND 6: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit

Date: 18 - 20 November 2022 Permit: MA2676

Circuit Details: Approx. 4.445 km, anti-clockwise

ROUND 7: The Bend Motorsport Park

Date: 25 – 27 November 2022 Permit: MA 2677

Circuit Details: Approx. 4.95 km, clockwise

ASBK SEASON RECAP

Round One - Phillip Island, Victoria Alpinestars Superbike

After pre-season testing, it was all about Wayne Maxwell and his Ducati Panigale V4S - the question at this point was: could he be beaten.. at all?

A fast and consistent Bryan Staring took the round one victory of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK).

In Alpinestars Superbikes race one at Phillip Island, Wayne Maxwell (Ducati V4R) was the only rider in the 1:31’s and was looking untouchable until a stumble on lap saw last year’s ASBK champion crash out at turn eight. Maxwell walked away unscathed, but the error left Bryan Staring (Ducati V4R) a clean road ahead with a four-second margin over the rest of the field.

An emotional Staring was almost lost for words on the podium, saying that he’d been “pretty patient for a pretty long time” waiting for this victory.

“We were chasing (Wayne) all weekend,” said Staring.

“It was good to get a bit back,” said Maxwell.

“I’ve got a few bruises so I’ll go and get the body healed up.”

Michelin Supersport

Pole sitter Senna Agius (Honda CBR RR) found himself way back in the pack early in race one, but after a red flag stopped the race early on, he was able to launch the Honda closer to the front. While Tom Edwards (Yamaha YZF-R6) was the leader early on, Agius was able to take the lead. Agius started to grind out a small advantage and Edwards made an incredible save coming onto the main straight as his rear tyre deflated, and with it his chances for the race.

Agius took the victory ahead of Tom Bramich (Yamaha YZF-R6) and Jack Hyde (Yamaha YZF-R6).

In race two, Agius got a better start, but it was Tom Edwards who lead the field into turn one, but it was Agius who was

“I knew that we had good race pace, but I didn’t know how good it needed to be though. Once we set out I could see the areas where we were strong and in the end, I kept the pressure on.”

Despite nursing a sore ankle from his excursion at Hayshed in race one, Maxwell kept it neat and clean in race two and was able to slowly edge a two-second gap to the fellow Ducati rider to take victory ahead of Staring and Cru Halliday (Yamaha YZF-R1).

Maxwell commended his team on preparing the number two bike to give him the win.

After pre-season testing, it was all about Wayne Maxwell and his Ducati Panigale V4S - the question at this point was: could he be beaten.. at all?

P1 after lap one. After several laps, Agius was out to a small lead, but Edwards found himself yo-yoing off the back of the race leader, and falling into the clutches of Bramich who obliged Edwards by running wide and letting him have some breathing space.

In the end, it was Agius’ weekend, with the internationalbound youngster taking the double in race two ahead of Tom Edwards, with Bramich this time occupying the final step of the podium.

Dunlop Supersport 300

An exciting round for the Dunlop 300 at the Phillip Island opener.

Free practice on the Friday produced a great lap from Liam Waters who had the fastest lap of the day of 1:48.475 on the Yamaha YZF-R3. It was a brilliant practice for the season opener by Waters as he was 3 tenths up on Cameron Dunker on the Yamaha YZF on pace.

Although Waters’ pace was there in practice, he did not manage to clinch a podium. Race one’s win went to Henry Snell (Yamaha YZF-R3), second to Glen Nelson (Yamaha YZF-R3) and third to Cameron Dunker (Yamaha YZF-R3). Nelson might have taken the top step but it was Snell that snached the win from him.

Snell also won the second race, followed by James Jacobs in second and Taiyo Aksu in third. Race three had Varis Fleming win, followed by Jacobs for second and Joseph Marinello for third.

However, an after-event inspection found both Fleming and Brodie Gawith disqualified due to machinery ineligibility. This brought Snell to third and bumped up Jacobs and Marinello.

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup

Round one was underway at Phillip Island with Henry Snell dominating the practice sessions with a 1:48.958 along with Brodie Gawith.

The first race had pole sitter Glenn Nelson out in front of Varis Fleming and Jonathon Nahlous, as Nelson fought hard to stay in front. Fleming initially crossed the line first but Fleming had exceeded track limit warnings earlier and was demoted to second.

The podium went to Nelson for first, followed by Jonathon Nahlous and then Taiyo Aksu, after an event inspection led to Varis Fleming and Brodie Gawith disqualified due to machine ineligibility.

Race two had Asku racing strong and putting in great laps, but it was Snell who managed to grab first place, followed by Asku and then Nelson.

The final race was also a strong race for Fleming who rode smoothly and took the lead a few times throughout the race. Jai Russo also rode well with Asku right behind. Russo finished in first, Aksu in second and Nelson in third. Fleming missed out on podiums from the weekend’s races due to a disqualification following a post-race inspection.

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup

The bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup opened with nine new riders for the 2022 season on the series spec Yamaha YZF-R15 bikes.

The Friday practice session was mostly dominated by Bodie Paige. Qualifying had Levi Russo take pole ahead of Teerin Fleming and Paige - ensuring full effort was used to dominate the grid.

For race one, Cameron Rende took victory with a 2:11.343 time, followed by Hudson Thompson in second and Harrison Watts in third.

Race two included a restart after Cape Barren Geese joined the fun on the circuit. Marcus Hamod used the restart to take victory followed by Sam Drane in second and Fleming in third.

Race three had the familiar names take the podium spots with Watts in first, Hamod in second and Fleming in third. Watts finished just six-hundredths ahead of the second.

ASBK SEASON RECAP

Round Two - Queensland Raceway, Queensland

Alpinestars Superbike

Mike Jones completed a perfect weekend to take two wins from two races at Round Two of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) at Queensland Raceway.

Bryan Staring (DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4-R) got the early jump on Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing YZF-R1) to take the lead in race one, with Glenn Allerton (Maxima Oils Racing BMW M1000RR) also making a big first lap move up to fourth. Jones would briefly retake the lead on lap two, but left the door open enough for Staring to nudge through.

A mid-corner error from Staring saw the championship leader drop out of contention and hand second place to Wayne Maxwell (V4-R). Jones would cruise to a 5.6-second lead to take victory ahead of Maxwell and Josh Waters (Maxima Oils Racing BMW M1000RR).

Maxwell timed his launch perfectly to take an early lead in race two ahead of Jones and Staring. It would be short-lived however as Jones ran past the Ducati through the outside

of turn two. Arthur Sissis (Unitech Racing YZF-R1) and Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing YZF-R1) would argue over fourth and fifth respectively. This duel would be settled before the chequered flag when Halliday stopped on the penultimate lap with mechanical issues.

Staring would shadow Jones more closely in the afternoon race, albeit two-seconds adrift. Eventually, Jones took his second win by 4.6 seconds ahead of Bryan Staring and Wayne Maxwell.

Jones now leads the championship on 86 points over Bryan Staring on 70 points with Josh Waters on 67 points. Jones, by his own admission, was surprised to be so competitive so early.

“I was hoping as the season went on to get to grips with the Yamaha and be able to challenge, so to lead the championship is a little bit above my expectations,” added Jones.

Second-placed Staring was circumspect after a crash in race one effectively lost him the championship lead to Jones, but philosophical nonetheless about his return to form.

Third-placed Maxwell was happy to score two podiums on what he deemed to be his ‘bogey’ circuit.

ASBK SEASON RECAP

James Jacobs started fifth on the grid and confidently worked his way through the pack to take first place for race one, followed by Dunker and Aksu.

An eventful start for race two had two riders, Aksu and Liam Waters, crash, forcing a race restart. Nelson and Dunker took the opportunity at the restart and gained control of the front early on. It was Nelson who clinched first place, Dunker for second and Jonathon Nahlous for third.

Michelin Supersport

On the day, Tom Edwards would take the Michelin Supersport race win, but a technical breach would see his points – and championship lead – taken away.

John Lytras (Yamaha YZF-R6) ran out to an early two-tenths of a second lead in race one for Michelin Supersport, but couldn’t hold on – eventually being usurped by Edwards (Yamaha YZF-R6) to the honours ahead of Scott Nicholson (Yamaha YZF-R6) and Lytras. Nominal Championship leader (With actual leader Senna Agius now overseas) Tom Bramich crashed out of the race, giving him a challenge to work back into contention over the next six rounds.

Lytras would get the jump in race two, only to get pushed down to third in the first few corners by Olly Simpson and Edwards. Tom Drane would make an impressive start to vault to fifth position. Edwards would eventually take two from two, only to see the championship lead go to Simpson after a technical infringement.

Dunlop Supersport 300

The start of practice found James Jacobs dominating the session. Taiyo Aksu and Laura Brown also rode well but it was Aksu ahead by just three-hundredths. The fastest overall went to Cameron Dunker for free practice. In qualifying, Glenn Nelson pushed himself to take pole position for the weekend.

In race three, Nelson and Dunker broke off from the pack early again and led the front, while Nahlous was left to fend off the other riders. It was Henry Snell who snuck through and took third place from Nahlous. The race finished with Nelson in first, Dunker in second and Henry in third.

In race three, Nelson and Dunker broke off from the pack early again and led the front, while Nahlous was left to fend off the other riders. It was Henry Snell who snuck through and took third place from Nahlous. The race finished with Nelson in first, Dunker in second and Henry in third.

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup

TThe practice on Friday for round two of the Yamaha Finance R3 Cup was topped by Taiyo Aksu, who was ahead of Cameron Dunker and Nate O’Neil.

Dunker clinched pole with a time of 1:21.916 in the qualifying. Glenn Nelson and Marcus Hammond were close behind with Dunker only half a second ahead.

In race one, Dunker dominated from start to finish, leaving everyone behind him. It was Nelson who finished second and Aksu in third. Henry Snell was unable to finish due to a crash at turn three, luckily Snell was left uninjured and came back for the other two races.

Race two began with a plethora of riders missing from the grid, and many had to start from pitlane. Dunker was challenged by Nelson and Henry Snell but in a huge effort from Sam Pezzetta, he took the third spot from Snell. The podium finished with first to Nelson, second to Dunker and a first time podium to Pezzeta in third.

Race three finished with Dunker in first, Snell in second and Nelson in third. An impressive race weekend by all Yamaha Finance R3 Cup riders.

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup

The first practice session of round two had Ryan Larkin topping Marcus Hamod by one-tenth of a second while in practice two, Teerin Fleming brought himself from fourth to first. In Qualifying one, Levi Russo did slightly better than Hudson Thompson with Hunter Convey closely behind.

In race one, Ryan Larkin had an outstanding race coming from sixth on the grid to lead for the four remaining laps. However, other hungry riders targeted the front and pushed through, finishing ahead of Larkin. Convey placed first, Cameron Rende in second and Hamod in third.

Race two had the lead change frequently between Rende, Larkin, Fleming and Thompson but the win went to Rende, second to Drane and third to Thompson in a close race.

ASBK SEASON RECAP

The final race only had 1.2 seconds between 8 riders, ensuring a tight competition. Harrison Watts finished first, followed by Larkin and then Thompson leaving the other riders behind.

The final race only had 1.2 seconds between 8 riders, ensuring a tight competition. Harrison Watts finished first, followed by Larkin and then Thompson leaving the other riders behind.

Round Three - Wakefield Park Raceway, New South Wales

Alpinestars Superbike

Ordinarily, the morning warm-up would pass with barely a mention. But Wayne Maxwell had noted at the Saturday evening press conference that the Boost Mobile with K tech team would be returning to previous settings, so interest was piqued. The #1 plate was up by a lot on Friday and had conceded ground in every session from then on. In the warmup it was Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) from Maxwell with Cru Halliday third.

Notable news from the warmup were crashes from both Lachlan Epis and Broc Pearson. In Pearson’s case, the Racesafe medical team were dispatched to attend to him. Shortly after the session concluded, race direction sent out a bulletin indicating that Pearson was to be transferred to the hospital for further investigation and would play no further part in the day’s proceedings.

As they say, once the flag drops, the BS stops and it was Wayne Maxwell who took the lead into turn one, showing the Yamaha Racing Team pair of Jones and Halliday the way around the 2.2km Wakefield Park Raceway.

It remained thus: Maxwell, Jones and Halliday. Local lad, the much-improved Troy Herfoss, worked his way up to fourth and when Halliday had a small glitch early in the race, Herfoss found himself in contention for a podium spot.

At the front, Jones was probing and poking the bear that is Wayne Maxwell. While Maxwell was in P1 with the fastest lap of the race, he was somehow not riding away. Smooth, yes, alone; no. A 0.3 of a second lead was the most he could manage, and as ASBK Commentator Phil Harlum would note: “that’s a Wakefield zero”.

Behind the leading quartet, Bryan Staring found himself in no man’s land while Sissis, Waters, Allerton, Falzon and Epis all fought for position. Marcus Chiodo was having a solid dice with this second group until a crash at turn one ended his race and turned his bike into a collection of spare parts. He walked away, seemingly uninjured, but an ankle injury would see him out for the day.

At the front, it remained tense. At half distance, Maxwell and Jones remained locked in an immovable arm wrestle. Every fast Maxwell lap saw Jones follow suit. The gap between the two sat at less than 0.2 of a second and the pundits wondered aloud if Jones was just content to stay where he was and wait for the final act.

While Halliday had fallen into Herfoss’ clutches for a time, he just put his head down and worked his way back into contention, but with six laps to go, he sat just a tantalising 0.8 off the back of the leading pair. Herfoss had been unable to stay with Halliday and a four-second gap opened.

Jones stopped biding his time with three to go and showed Maxwell a wheel at every opportunity. Finally putting a pass on the 2021 champion to take the lead into turn threemuch to the surprise of onlookers and riders alike.

ASBK SEASON RECAP

It was as unexpected as it was brilliant, and Maxwell seemed to have no answer. Immediately, Jones pushed his Yamaha R1 ahead and opened a seemingly unbeatable 0.6 gap to Maxwell’s familiar Boost Mobile Ducati.

Jones would hit the finish line by 1.118 seconds to take a tactically perfect victory and increase his lead in the Alpinestars Superbike Championship.

Halliday would finish third with the top ten made up of Herfoss, Staring, Sissis, Allerton, Waters, Falzon and West

At the halfway point it was Jones and Maxwell out front with Maxwell “shadowing Jones perfectly” according to ASBK commentator Steve Martin. The tactic also seemed to suit Maxwell physically, who had complained of arm pump in race one.

Herfoss and Halliday were trading lap times in third and fourth, but neither was able to set off after the leaders, while Staring was clearly struggling with his Ducati’s rear grip.

On lap 14, Maxwell ran out of patience - or saw an opportunity - and took the race lead into the last turn. Immediately he did the expected thing and banged out a fast lap. But he might as well have been actually towing Jones around as the blue R1 stayed glued to his tailpipe.

Meanwhile, Herfoss was as brave as he was confident, and tried to get around Halliday, only to run wide and let Halliday get away.

At the pointy end, the tables were turned, with Jones now in hot pursuit. Maxwell was riding 10/10ths and while there were only a few laps left, it was far from over.

In race two, Jones got the good start he needed, and a motivated and aggressive Cru Halliday held on for second with Wayne Maxwell similarly aggressive. These two came together as they came onto the straight and set the tone for the rest of the 20-lap journey.

Halliday would get shuffled back to fourth by Bryan Staring as Jones again tried to get away from the pursuing pack. Maxwell, who led the first race, now found himself as the hunter and settled happily into second place.

Meanwhile, fifth-placed Troy Herfoss stayed in contention behind Halliday. Up front, Maxwell was all over Jones but these two had now opened a one-second gap to the riders behind. Arthur Sissis showed he’s realising his huge potential by sitting in sixth with a German triumvirate of BMWs behind him in the form of Waters, Allerton and Epis.

Out front, Maxwell seemed to be playing the numbers and saving his tyres. While Jones happily - in Maxwell’s words “did the donkey work”, the 2021 champion did the same thing Jones did in race one; observed, poked and prodded.

Halliday got past Staring in an important championshippoints situation. Staring’s tyre woes appeared to have struck as Herfoss also put a pass on the Western Australia’s DesmoSport Panigale.

Maxwell got out to a 0.3 second lap, but for all that effort, Jones reeled him in again with a lap to go, to get back on terms. For all his efforts, Jones seemed to be losing some drive and Maxwell was clearly hungry for the win.

Maxwell played the last lap to perfection and drove the Ducati to the line to take the win to put himself well into the championship contention in terms of points and perhaps even more importantly, put himself psychologically back in the game.

Sean Condon stepped in for the absent Tom Edwards and there were murmurs in the paddock about how a retired rider with a seven-year absence from racing could turn up and take pole.

The talk was not about suspicion of Condon’s pace, but rather the lack of it from the rest of the field who, once the flag dropped for race one, needed to show that season-long racers would beat a one-off guest rider.

Almost immediately after the race started, Tom Drane had an excursion at turn two and that brought out the red flag. Drane remounted and returned to the track. Condon was one of the few riders pleased to see the red flag after he literally missed the start. While being interviewed by Kate Peck for ASBK TV, he admitted that he not only missed the start, but he also wasn’t even sure about how the light sequence worked.

At the restart, Condon repeated his poor start and immediately dropped to fourth, with John Lytras, Ty Lynch and Scott Nicholson ahead.

On lap two, all hell broke loose with Tom Bramich, Nicholson and Noel Mahon all crashing in the space of 30 seconds. Nicholson would remount but go a lap down.

Out front, Lytras and Lynch diced for the lead, trading places while Condon looked on. The leading trio would push out to a 6+ second lead. Lytras tried to push hard in the middle part of the race to get a gap, but Lynch and Condon gave him nothing. Condon seemed to be checking out potential passing points while biding his time.

With two laps to go, the lap times dropped under one minute and Condon tried to push past Lynch, but could not find a gap.

Lytras led them into the final lap and ground out a small, but handy lead. Meanwhile, Condon finally took second place from Lynch, while Lytras saluted for the win.

Mitch Kuhne and Jake Farnsworth were fourth and fifth while Scott Nicholson salvaged some championship points by finishing 10th.

For the post-lunch break race two, the light rain that had threatened to derail everyone’s best-laid plans did the honourable thing and disappeared with some cloud and sun setting up a tantalising battle.

Michelin Supersport

ASBK SEASON RECAP

Polesitter Condon had - courtesy of a restart in race one - two race starts and both were ugly. Race two was no different as the bike reared up briefly gifting the lead to Lytras with Lynch and Nicholson filling the top three.

Lytras took the lead and immediately got down to business, pressing home the advantage out to seven tenths while the following trio of Lynch, Nicholson and Condon tried to stay in touch.

Things would remain that way for much of the early and middle part of the race and while Lytras was keen to get away, the pursuers still had him in sight and were not letting go.

In the final third of the race, the leading foursome split into two pairs of Lytras and Lynch and then Nicholson and Condon. Kuhne ran out of luck after several heart-in-mouth moments and crashed, remounting in 12th place.

With two to go, Condon got past Nicholson and set off after the leading pair. Lytras and Lynch started the last lap nose to tail, and it became clear that only they could take the top spot on the podium.

Lytras again showed his determination and stamped not only his authority on the race, but showed he is capable of taking the 2022 title, winning by 0.520 from Lynch, with Condon on the podium some 1.7s behind.

Nicholson and Bramich were fourth and fifth.

Lytras now ascends to the seemingly cursed leadership of the Michelin Supersport in a season where there have already been three leaders (and nominal leaders) by round three.

Dunlop Supersport 300

As of the race weekend at Wakefield Park, Henry Snell was the current championship leader but Glenn Nelson, Cameron Dunker and James Jacobs are all high contenders going into the rest of the rounds.

The first practice session was far from great for Snell as he sat at ninth before dropping to 13th in session two. A great session by Dunker who was the only rider in the 1:05sabsolutely dominating the practice. Dunker continued this great pace to the other sessions as well. Brodie Gawith also rode well in the practice sessions, showing the grid what he’s made of.

In race one, Dunker and Nelson were challenging each other for the lead but it was Dunker who finished in first by five thousandths of a second in front of Nelson, followed by Jacobs in third.

The second race had Dunker putting the pressure on after having dropped from the lead in the start. The pressure from Dunker reflected in Nahlous as he was trail braking behind Dunker, he broke too far and crashed out after he folded the end.

Two packs sectioned off the grid; Dunker, Hayden, Nelson, Aksu and Glenn, followed by Jacobs, Waters, Nikolis, Swain, Gawith and Snell. It was first for Dunker, second for Nelson and third for Jacobs for race two.

The final race had Dunker in the lead again using his highly aerodynamic profile. A “classic supersport 300 situation” had lots of passing and leading with quick changes in the leaderboard.

Asku dominated the lead for the last lap, but Dunker took a gap and finished in first, followed by Asku and Nelson. Snell’s weekend didn’t go to plan, finishing eighth in race three.

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup

A consistent season so far by both Cameron Dunker and Glenn Nelson, but Nelson had the season lead going into the Wakefield Park round.

Practice had three riders; Dunker, Glenn Nelson and Hayden Nelson in the top performing field. The qualifying also had Dunker, Swain and Hayden Nelson in the top qualifiers, securing the front row of the grid.

The first race had Dunker trying to break away to lead but Glenn Nelson and Hayden Nelson worked hard to ensure Dunker was not allowed to break away. By mid-race the three had a five-second gap between the rest of the group.

ASBK SEASON RECAP

The race ended with Dunker first, Glenn Nelson in second and Hayden Nelson in third.

Race two again had Dunker, Hayden Nelson and Glenn Nelson close to each other at the front but close by was Cameron Swain and Taiyo Aksu. In the end, Glenn Nelson used the slipstream and secured first place, followed by Dunker then Hayden Nelson - Aksu missing out on a podium.

Race three brought the classic R3 conditions and had a long line of riders. By the last two laps there was still nothing between them and the riders were hunting each other down in a long line. It was Liam Waters who took the slipstream to win by 0.050 to Dunker in second and Glenn Nelson in third.

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup

Hudson Thompson, Marcus Hamod and Harrison Watts had great pace, topping the practice, along with Alexander Codey.

Race one had Thompson, Watts, Hamod, Cameron Rende and Levi Russo zipping through the circuit fighting for a podium. With lots of chasing, Watts put himself in the perfect position to win taking first, followed by Thompson and then Rende.

The second race on Sunday began with light rain but the riders rode with care. Breaking out to the front was

Thompson and Watts while the rest of the riders formed a group to chase. However, after the race Thompson and Watts were penalised one place due to weaving over the white line when racing down. On the podium in first was Russo, then Watts for second and Thompson for third.

The last race had a large front group of Thompson, Hamod, Watts, Rende, Russo and Sam Drane. First place went to Thompson, followed by second to Hamod and third Watts.

ASBK SEASON RECAP

Round Four - Hidden Valley Raceway, Northern Territory

Round Four was a Superbike-class-only event as part of the terrific Darwin Triple Crown format alongside Supercars and a drag racing event...

The next situation is hot racing. This situation has transcended eras and teams. The racing is always good. After the round was done, noted motorsport commentator Richard Craill said that not only was ASBK the best racing of the weekend, “if that’s what it’s like, can we have more?”.

And lastly, you always get an amazing story out of a Darwin taxi driver.

Alpinestars Superbike

There are some standard “Darwin situations;” the first is that it will be ideal Darwin hot- dry and consistent. Anyone who complains about the heat only need have a weekend back “down south” to appreciate how good the winter break is.

Anyway, to the racing in 2022...

The races on both Saturday and Sunday meant a full day of practice for Friday. There was no time for errors as riders needed to be prepared to bring great results over the weekend.

The pressure of practice led to the creation of team “who would like to crash?” as Josh Waters, Luke Macdonald, Marc Chioda and Ant West all found themselves off-track but fortunately uninjured.

The Alpinestars Superbikes put on a great show for qualifying, with Wayne Maxwell, Bryan Staring and Cru Halliday in the top three spots after Q1, all pushing to take the better positions.

The Q2 session set the grid for all three races over the weekend and saw Maxwell take pole with a blistering 1:04.962, with Jones second and Staring narrowly taking third by 0.001 from Waters.

Herfoss found himself in sixth on the second row, and Glenn Allerton was unfortunate to have his fastest lap cancelled for exceeding track limits, relegating him to 10th.

Race one started off at the expected frenetic pace with the magnificent DesmoSport Ducati in its one-off indigenous livery, firing off the line from third into first for turn one. The then-second placed Arthur Sissis also had a huge start from seventh.

After leading for five laps, Staring found himself second to the number 46 Yamaha after Jones decided that he had the pace and tyres to go to the line. As soon as he hit the lead, Jones focused on smooth, consistent laps and eked out a small, but noticeable gap.

In the final few laps, after working his way through the field, Herfoss arrived upon the second placed Staring for what would be the battle of the day. With respect for each other, but a championship and the day’s honours to battle for, they traded positions multiple times and nearly sent themselves off track on the last lap. It was nail biting, exciting and brilliant dicing with Herfoss coming out the winner- albeit for second place on the day.

While the Staring/Herfoss fight was holding the attention of the TV directors and fans, Jones quietly took the

A poor start by Maxwell meant he had to work his way back up the grid. Arthur Sisiss had the start of champions, from seventh to first by turn one. For five solid laps Sissis contested the lead and was P1 every time over the finish line. The South Australian gave as good as he got, showing that a good start was not all he had.

By the end of race two, a battle between Maxwell, Staring, Jones and Herfoss created a tight podium finish. Maxwell managed to take first place after charging back through the field, followed by Jones in second and Starring in third in a thrilling encounter that had something for everyone.

Race Three was shaping up to be a duel for the championship, until an unfortunate mistake by Maxwell gifted Jones a largely uncontested win. Jones was able to make the most of the gap formed from Maxwell’s low-side and steam away to an emphatic win, 6.5 seconds ahead of second by the finish line.

But the big mover of the afternoon was Allerton, coming from 10th to fourth on lap one to set up a thrilling battle for the podium in the closing stages of the race. In the last few laps Staring, Allerton and Herfoss all diced for the second step and crucial points, and in the end Allerton played bike-chess best to set up moves on Staring and eventually Herfoss to take a hard fought second place.

Championship by the scruff of the neck as he took race one. He might have missed the bonus point for pole, but the 25 points for the win was ample compensation.

It was an impressive race by Herfoss. His determination to get back on the track after a horrible crash at Darwin just 12-months earlier meant a special podium for the first race in Darwin.

“Far out, this is probably the proudest moment I’ve had on a motorbike” said Herfoss after race one.

A great ride by Jones and an essential one for important points towards the championship.

“Bryan was being a bit conservative in the early phase, and I was feeling pretty good,” said Jones. “I pushed past Bryan and got a good gap. Nice and easy race for me, no dicing so it was a great outcome.”

Race Two on Sunday morning was full of battles on the track.

“He’s (Troy) always going to go to the inside up there on those last two corners and I knew it,” said Allerton. “All I wanted for him to do was to commit more than he wanted to so that we would roll wide on the exit so that I could drive down the last turn and it pretty much played out exactly how I wanted it.”

Get ready to discover the fourth Multistrada generation. Sportier and more touring, stronger for off-road use and easier in the urban environment. Lightweight and compact, with the new 170 HP V4 Granturismo engine for a sporty and exciting ride on mixed terrains. Ready for long journeys thanks to the navigation-system that can be viewed on the dashboard and the innovative rider assistance radar-system, it will offer you excellent riding comfort and a main service-interval after 60.000 km. And when the asphalt ends the fun will continue thanks to the high ground clearance, the electronic suspension, the surprisingly fluid power delivery and the perfect ergonomics for stand-up riding. After your adventures you will feel great ease and control in daily use thanks to the advanced electronic ride assist systems and the ability to adjust the seat down to 810 mm in height.

New Ducati Multistrada V4: ruling all roads has never been easier.

ASBK SEASON RECAP

Round Five - Morgan Park Raceway, Warwick, Queensland

Round Five saw the ASBK circus make a long overdue return to Morgan Park for the first time since 2019. After the Superbike-class-only Darwin Triple Crown, the full field of classes returned to put on a fantastic display of racing over a dynamic weekend.

Alpinestars Superbike

The first practice session saw the bulk of the running before the rain set in for the day with only Jed Metcher, Troy Herfoss, Max Stauffer and Mike Jones managed more than five laps.

Wayne Maxwell set the time to beat before the rain set in for the day – a 1:14.426 that stood until Broc Pearson and Lachlan Epis hit the low 1:14s in qualifying the next day.

usual want – went out and posted a time early to encourage people to throw caution to the wind and there he would stay for much of the session.

As always, the excitement came late in the session as the Yamaha team duo of Jones and Halliday pressed their claims for pole – but both came up slightly short in second and third respectively.

Herfoss was all green in two sectors for pole but fell away. Epis from nowhere jumped up to fourth and the Ducati teammates, Staring and Pearson, were 6th and 7th.

With seconds to go, the riders set out for their final flying lap, but it was all done. Maxwell took pole by a healthy 0.414 and broke the qualifying record for good measure.

He was followed by the blue two of Jones and Halliday then Epis, Herfoss, Staring, Pearson, Sissis, Metcher and Allerton rounding out the top ten.

Maxwell took the extra point and gave himself every opportunity to take the full points on offer.

RACE ONE

Lachlan Epis jumped away from downtown to take the lead off the line and he and Wayne Maxwell headed away. Late in the lap, Maxwell put in a pretty brutal pass and Epis went off track, re-joining in 13th and taking away any opportunity the BMW Alliance squad had for a much-needed podium finish.

Classic Maxwell. Head down, bum up and setting sail for the finish line- on lap two. With Cru Halliday now in second place and Mike Jones in third, it was the stuff of nightmares for the Yamaha Factory squad. Halliday had made it clear at the Friday presser that he wasn’t just going to give up a spot for Jones as “I need to get wins.”

The conditions kept the majority of the field in their boxes, with only five riders venturing out through in practice two and three

Saturday’s qualifying was a different beast to the usual. Ordinarily, heading out in Q1 isn’t ideal. It means you missed the top nine in timed practice.

This time, things were different – and weirder. Matt Walters, Broc Pearson and Lachlan Epis all had their TP times disallowed after tyre violations.

And while it may have felt like a penalty, the opportunity to complete additional laps in the dry might have been of benefit.

At the end of the session, it was Pearson, Epis and Stauffer going through to the main qualifying session with additional dry running laps under their belts.

The early running in qualifying two saw the top two from Q1 –Pearson and Epis, straight to the top. Wayne Maxwell – as is his

But on lap six, Jones finally got past his teammate and set off for the now 2.4 seconds-ahead Wayne Maxwell.

At half distance, the pressure valve blew with Cru Halliday sliding off at turn six. Jones was a lonely second, while Maxwell was a lonely but-happy first, but the gap was down to 1.7 from 2.4 seconds. Maxwell’s cunning plan to create pressure on Jones by getting out to a good lead was being brought undone as Jones played the reverse card and put the pressure back on the 2021 champion.

By lap 10, Pearson had overtaken teammate Staring for fourth in his first outing aboard the DesmoSport Ducati while Maxwell’s lead had fallen to 1.4 seconds.

By lucky lap 13, it was under a second. Jones was now able to start lining-up the K-Tech Ducati Panigale and think about where he wanted to pass. “The number one machine is in trouble” said Steve Martin and while he is the expert, it was now obvious to all. As if we didn’t need anything else to add to the tension; the back markers came into play.

A 0.6 second gap on lap 14. Jones could now surely feel the heat from the Ducati exhausts and the blue R1 was now in contact with the gap now just two tenths. The time doesn’t matter. They are together as we headed into the final lap.

Tension? Yeah… all of it. Maxwell had to use everything he had in his skill bag and 20 years of top-level racing experience to just get a tiny, but vital gap. At the bottom of the circuit, he’s too good, and as navigated the last chicane, the Ducati can pretty much take it from there and he crossed the line first.

Herfoss within a second of each other.

Further down, Broc Pearson led Epis, Halliday, Arthur Sissis and Glenn Allerton as they tried to work their way to the leading quartet.

In the space of three corners, Herfoss worked his way from fourth into second place “like carving up backmarkers” according to commentator Steve Martin.

While we were collectively distracted by Herfoss, Maxwell had taken the lead into turn one after a solid draft and late braking move.

Staring fell away slightly, while teammate Pearson began to catch the leaders. Gary Crilly from Pirelli was interviewed and noted that Herfoss was the only rider in the leading group who had gone with the softer tyre option. As that was happening, Herfoss took the lead.

But by lap 11, Jones had taken the lead from Herfoss while Maxwell was shuffled back to third. Pearson was now the fastest man on circuit and Jones was trying to pull away from the hungry Herfoss and Maxwell.

Pundits began to speculate on Herfoss’ tyre life while Jones just pushed out to a near one second lead on lap 12. Pearson was now on the back of Staring and the decision by DesmoSport to offer the rookie Superbike rider a seat mid-season began to look like a very clever move.

Jones was home for second with Herfoss third to round out a podium of past winners at Morgan Park.

Broc Pearson brought home his Ducati in a startling and betterthan-expected fourth place, ahead of teammate Staring in fifth, Glenn Allerton in sixth, a valiant ride from Epis, working his way into seventh, Arthur Sissis in eighth, in ninth Jed Metcher and Max Stauffer rounded out the top ten.

RACE TWO

It was Mike Jones with the holeshot in race two with Maxwell tucking in behind. Bryan Staring was into third, with Lachlan Epis (4th) and Cru Halliday (5th).

It was apparent even after lap one that Jones was looking to pop off the front to avoid any shenanigans with second placed on track and second in the championship Wayne Maxwell.

But Maxwell was having none of that, pushing back into the slipstream and immediately looking to pounce. While the Ducati has the horses, as the late Ken Wootton said of a younger Jones “he has the biggest brake rotors in the paddock” and there was no out braking the R1 into turn one.

After three laps, there was plenty of tension but little passing as the riders seemingly settled in. Troy Herfoss moved up into fourth, while Staring made contact with the leading duo and the two Ducatis started to stalk the lone blue Yamaha.

Herfoss set off after the leaders and thanks to relentless fast laps, by lap five it was a four-man race with Jones, Maxwell, Staring and

Into the last laps and it was Jones, but now he had Maxwell back with him at just 0.3 behind. Pearson passed Herfoss as Staring did the same- the two Ducati teammates began sizing each other up for the final podium spot. The soft tyre option for Herfoss was now starting to go away from him and he dropped seconds a lap to the leaders.

Into the final lap, with Maxwell, just 0.1 behind at various points. Further back, the Ducatis diced and then in an incredible turn around, Maxwell found a way through the #46 Yamaha and Jones immediately had a huge moment that nearly ended off track. It was an unbelievable finish.

Maxwell banked the maximum 51 points, Jones continues to lead, Pearson has arrived and there’s just two rounds to go…

ASBK SEASON RECAP

Michelin Supersport

Qualifying Two for Michelin Supersport got underway with Ty Lynch setting the pace early. A 1:17.187 on his second lap was a statement, with not many riders even in the 1:18s that early in the session. With his head down and the early momentum on his side, Lynch went about improving lap-by-lap, getting down to the low 1:16s after a few laps.

But while Lynch was improving on-track, John Lytras was waiting…

After eight minutes in the pits, Lytras took to the track, and after a couple of cool as-you-like warm-up 1:16s, he took control of the session. 1:15.981 became the time to beat, and it was evident that only Lynch was on-pace to have a shot.

restarted, but he was 13th and three laps down on 12th.

Meanwhile Bromich and Farnsworth were locked in a riveting arm wrestle for second. Bromich finally worked his way past and was able to get a small but decisive gap.

The last laps were by comparison quiet at that front, but Mitch Kuhne, Tom Drane and Luca Durning were fighting it out for fifth place and traded places several times before finishing in that order.

RACE TWO

The mood on the grid of race two was tense. After his 13th placed, three-laps-down race one, John Lytras and his team were understandably nervous after his nightmare race where his bike cut out twice, costing him any chance of victory.

In the end, Lytras proved too strong on the day, taking pole with a 1:15.534, with Lynch sitting close behind with a 1:15.840. Tom Bramich rounded out the front row in third with a 1:17.094.

RACE ONE

Pole sitter John Lytras gave up one spot after the start to Ty Lynch who was able to jump away. The alliteration friendly pair of Lynch and Lytras were away to a small, but important lead.

Lap three, Lytras found his way past Lynch and within a few corners, the white R6 was a few bike lengths off the front.

Meanwhile Tom Bramich has worked his way to the back of Jake Farnsworth who was in third place.

Suddenly, Lytras was seen stopped trackside frantically trying to restart his bike and… reboot it. “It looks like the bike turned itself off” noted commentator Steve Martin. It was a painful sight as the championship leader worked frantically to get his machine going again, as his rivals zipped past.

Just like that, Ty Lynch found himself in the lead and – at that point – very close to Lytras in the championship points. With Lytras down in 13th- but with his ears pinned back, every rider he passed meant a few points ahead in the championship. Finishing thirteenth meant that Lynch was just one point behind. An extraordinary situation.

And then it happened again. Lytras again stationary trackside with the bike showing a blue screen of nightmares. Any hope of some extra consolation points went away and suddenly Lynch found himself a few seconds up the road. The machine eventually

It was Ty Lynch who jumped away and led the field into turn one, with a rejuvenated and focused Lytras in pursuit. The leading pair would do exactly that, and after a few laps they would get out to a multi-second lead, with Tom Bramich in third, but losing contact.

Jake Farnsworth crashed out in turn one, while fourth through seventh diced for position. A group of Rhys Belling, Tom Drane, Luca Durning and Scott Nicholson would stay in contact with each other until the race-end.

Lytras meanwhile had moved past Lynch and by lap eight, was out to a 1.7 second lead with a 14 second gap back to third placed Bramich.

At lap 12, Lytras just needed to stay upright, and for the bike to stay happy. There were no signs of the electrical gremlins that had plagued him in race one. With a near-five-second lap, he was inevitable.

Lynch had served up everything he had, but Lytras sought and received some redemption for his issues in race one and crossed the line some 6.2 seconds back to Lynch with Bramich third and then the Drane (4th) led bunch finished together with Nicholson (5th), Belling (6th), Durning (7th) and Troy Guenther (8th).

Dunlop Supersport 300

RACE ONE

A sizeable group of nine riders managed to get out to a ten second gap and there they diced for the remainder. Pole sitter Aksu set off with Nahlous, Waters and Nelson Glenn and Hayden the protagonists in the ten-lap show and they took turns to lead a close, but clean group.

Morgan Park lends itself to close racing, but also doesn’t really offer anyone in this class the opportunity to creep away. Late in the race, despite every effort, there was just no rider able to stamp themselves on the race, but it was Taiyo Aksu who- having taken the lead multiple times, was able to be in front when it counted.

fifth and while a part of the lead group, he did not appear able to press a claim for race leadership.

Last lap and Aksu led them over the line. Nahlous was inside and into the lead at turn one, Swain lurked and showed the leaders a wheel here and there, but Aksu held second place and had eyes only for leader Nahlous.

Bunching up through the final turns, it was impossible to work out who would take the minor placings- Aksu had just enough to hang on for first place, but it was Waters in second, Swain up for third, Nahlous would be disappointed to be shuffled from first down to fourth and Dunker in fifth.

At the start of the weekend, Aksu was the only rider seemingly capable of genuinely chasing Dunker for the title, and yet another Aksu win with Dunker in fifth started to make the complicated maths to take the Championship lead a reality.

RACE THREE

The final race of the weekend for the Supersport 300 crew was always going to be tense. Championship leader Cameron Dunker was blessed because despite his results not being quite where he needed them to be, his main rivals were either absent or not at the front either.

While Championship leader Cameron Dunker was down in sixth, his points situation was not overly damaged with second in the Championship James Jacobs not racing, third in the Championship Glenn Nelson fifth and fourth in the Championship Henry Snell crashing out.

Fifth in the Championship Taiyo Akso took the 25 points for the win plus the single point bonus for pole, but starting the weekend with a 61 point deficit to Dunker… it’s going to be quite a task.

RACE TWO

There are no gentleman’s agreements in Supersport 300. It’s all “I’m gonna get mine” and listing the lead changes is a fruitless exercise.

But we can say that it was Taiyo Aksu who led them away, while variously Jonathan Nahlous, Glenn Nelson and others appeared to lead, but the important fact was that nine riders got away to a five second lead from another group comprising seven more riders.

The leading group of Aksu, Nahlous, Liam Waters, Cameron Swain, Jonathan Nikolis, Cameron Dunker, Glenn Nelson and Hayden Nelson raced hard and fair and the slightest gap was an open invite to be passed. That’s fine, you just have to wait a few corners and repay the favour.

With two to go Aksu was late on the brakes into turn one to take the lead. It really felt like he meant business and was clearly prepping for the run to the line. Championship leader Dunker was down in

Taiyo Aksu was the standout rider of the weekend, but starting the weekend fifth in the Championship meant that the challenge to get to the top of the standings was rather large

So at the jump it was Aksu again leading from Liam Waters and Glenn Nelson. On this occasion the leading group consisted of ten riders, and they would stay close for the duration of the 10-lap journey.

Variously, Marianos Nikolis and Waters lead the race, with Aksu unhappily in third, trying everything to stay in contact and work his way back to the lead. Cameron Swain sat happily in fourth, content to let the leading trio trade the lead- and fairing paint- while he waited to pounce.

ASBK SEASON RECAP

Aksu found himself back in the lead by lap six and managed the impossible- a small gap to the pursuing pack. The pack called for a brief ceasefire, realising that their common enemy was off the front.

The leading pack of eight, led by Glenn Nelson, found their collective rhythm, and while the front three and the back three of the leading pack would jostle for position repeatedly throughout the race, Dunker and Hayden Nelson remained calm and consistent in their fourth and fifth places throughout.

By lap four, it was apparent that we had a battle on our hands, as Taiyo Aksu made a move on Glenn Nelson for the lead. Not to be outdone, Liam Waters took the spot back from Glenn Nelson after losing it on the start.

Coming to the finish, a tight battle between Waters and Aksu made for a great spectacle. The two exchanged positions on lap six, and then again on seven, before the final push for the finish line on lap eight – and the result could not have been closer, Aksu coming out on top by 0.005, requiring a video review to confirm the result.

Dunker managed some redemption after the poor start, taking the final podium position from Glenn Nelson on the last lap.

RACE TWO

The final lap board came out, and Nahlous took the lead into turn one. Swain passed him back, while Aksu worked back up to second. With the corners running out, Swain led from Aksu and Nahlous.

Aksu took the lead with a few corners to go and tried to sneak to the line. Swain had the perfect sit and like a pro cycling sprinter, pulled out of the slipstream to take his first win in Supersport 300 by 3/100th of a second.

POST-ROUND

At the completion of Round Five, ASBK Race Direction advised the disqualification of #181 Liam Waters from Rounds Two, Three and Five, due to a technical regulation breach. Consequently, results from the listed rounds were amended. See the full post-race notice from ASBK Race Direction and the amended standings at asbk.com.au

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup

RACE ONE

An eventful first lap saw Jonathan Nahlous and Jack Favelle both end their races at turn-10, while Glenn Nelson took an early lead from pole sitter Cameron Dunker. Cameron Swain was the biggest loser off the start, dropping from fourth to eighth and with a lot of work to do after lap one.

Cameron Dunker was swallowed off the line down to fourth by turn one while Liam Waters had a great start into first. Aksu down one spot to sixth was the one to watch on the back of three wins through the weekend already.

The field was tight as they settled into the race, after one lap there was barely a gap of half a second. Glenn Nelson took advantage of the slipstream onto the main straight to take second place with sights set on Waters ahead.

The next lap, Glenn Nelson made the move on Waters at the back end of the lap but lost the spot again on the straight – Waters and Cameron Swain both coming through.

On lap three, Aksu made his way through, up to third and looking strong. By the final chicane, Aksu was right on the back of Swain and cruised by on the main straight to take the lead – setting back of back-to-back fastest laps in the process.

Jonathan Nahlous was able to catch and pass Aksu for 2-3 corners, before Aksu would once again take the lead. Nahlous and Aksu swapped the lead several times before Swain tired of the Nahlous/ Aksu show back in fourth and took the race lead on lap nine.

Swain wasn’t done, taking the position back from Aksu but it didn’t last – only a few corners later Swain crashed out of the lead while trying to battle with Aksu. Swain was okay but that was his race done.

Into lap five and Aksu looked to build on the lead, now out to 0.35 and holding out now comfortably from Waters on the straight.

As the leading pack settled in for a few laps, there was a great little scrap happening from ninth down to 13th with Henry Snell holding out the pack, separated by less than a second.

Waters, not to be outdone, got the head down and reeled Aksu in, taking the lead on lap seven, holding off a charge from Aksu at turn one on the start of the final lap.

Marianos Nikolis has worked his way up into a potential podium, fighting with Dunker with the Nelson duo in fifth and sixth.

Heading into the final chicane Waters set himself up with a clean exit to hold on and win by 0.143, while Aksu had to defend a fiery Nikolis, who very nearly pipped second on the line.

In the midfield, a trio of Jack Favelle, Snell and Jonathan Nahlous hit the line three-wide separated by just 0.051 with Favelle taking a hard fought ninth.

RACE THREE

A lightning start from Liam Waters could only be bettered by the one and only Taiyo Aksu who continued to show his weekend form, moving from fifth to second and right on the tail of Waters.

At the start of lap three, Aksu made the move on Waters to take the lead, but nothing is a given here and there were seven bikes behind all in the mix.

The final race of the weekend had given these riders countless laps to figure out the right race plan and setting up the chicane exit onto the main straight looked a crucial element of any good race.

The movement within the leading pack of eight was constant and countless while seven seconds up the road was essentially the other half of the field with Cooper Rowntree at the head of ninth to 15th split by less than a second.

Into lap seven it was Hayden Nelson looking to make the big moves, up into second as they headed to the line, with Swain falling to seventh.

Waters led the final lap with Aksu and Marianos Nikolis close behind. Aksu went for a move on Waters but couldn’t hold on to it, and it looked like that could be a good thing heading into the chicane- the tow awaited.

But Waters managed a clean-as-you-like exit out of the final corner and somehow managed to hold off the attack from Aksu, staying just ahead by 0.047 to take the race and overall weekend win.

Nikolis held on for a well fought third place ahead of Cameron Dunker with less than a second back to eighth.

POST-ROUND

At the completion of Round Five, ASBK Race Direction advised the disqualification of #181 Liam Waters from Rounds Two, Three and Five, due to a technical regulation breach. Consequently, results from the listed rounds were amended. See the full post-race notice from ASBK Race Direction and the amended standings at asbk.com.

au

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup

“Come to Queensland” they said, “It’s a lovely winter getaway”. Well, they got the winter part right with rain and cooler temps and while the earlier runners got some dry track for most it was moist.

…and that created its own set of circumstances. For most riders that meant sitting in their garage and not out on their bike, but not for the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup (OJC) riders.

ASBK SEASON RECAP

It was a perfect storm for chaos as the OJC field were out in droves throughout the treacherous conditions. The bLU cRU OJC riders showed their progress and talent, managing – perhaps even

Watts took second row with his Q1 time of 1:36.864 and Hudson Thompson took third to round out the front row with a 1:37.547 set in Q2.

RACE ONE

Result subject to video review and penalties.

Not something fans of any racing like to see- especially when it comes to junior racing.

But the reality is when one rider jumps, others tend to go with them and for the OJC, it’s a learning process and even when their coach Gary McCoy has drummed it into them, there’s no teacher quite like experience.

enjoying – the conditions like absolute pros, with most banking at least nine laps in the 15-minute first practice session and incredibly, not a single rider coming undone in these conditions.

Sam Drane took the honours in Practice One as the quickest to adapt to the wet, comfortable no doubt thanks to a month’s worth of Flat Track in the USA. He finished just 0.064 ahead of Hudson Thompson.

Practice Two saw the conditions the same- if not worse- and the field would once again follow the Alpinestars Superbikes on track. This time out though, only four of the premier class managed any laps in the preceding 35-minute session, compared to 19 in the OJC where most again managed around nine laps.

By the end of Practice Three, the vast majority of the OJC field were nearing 30-laps on a day that saw most other classes with their feet up (and dry) – invaluable experience in conditions many had yet to face.

QUALIFYING

An almost dry track greeted the OJC riders on Saturday morning for Qualifying One as the 11:30 AM session got underway. While the rain had finally departed in the very early hours of the morning, the track took much of the day to work its way to fully dry, and so the 19-strong OJC class took to the track in “mostly dry” conditions.

Harrison Watts led the way early, starting with a 1:39.580 and working his way down to a 1:39.019 before Hudson Thompson brought the first 1:38 of Qualifying One. As the session was declared dry, Bodie Paige and Harrison Watts exchanged fastest laps to end the first qualifying session in the 1:36s.

Into Qualifying Two, with the track now properly dry, Levi Russo came alive. After setting a fastest time of 1:39.131, Russo’s fourth lap of the session was already a second faster, and faster he continued to get – taking pole position and a new qualifying record for the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup, setting the highly aesthetically pleasing time of 1:36.666 on lap 12 of 13 in Qualifying Two.

Three jumped starts aside, the riders settled into a race rhythm that saw six riders slowly work their way up the road. Watts, Thompson, Paige, Russo, Rende and Hamod worked together and – as befits OJC- against each other.

Hamod and Rende would face ten second penalties for their jumped start, so while they were seemingly fighting for the lead, the end of the race would see them relegated outside the top four.

RACE TWO

Levi Russo was missing from the grid following a crash in the warmup, giving the leaders an easier task, and it was Hudson Thompson who made the most of the opportunity from the start. It wasn’t long before a leading pack broke away, establishing a little over a second between Marcus Hamod in fifth and Ryan Larkin in sixth by the end of lap one.

As they crossed the line for the first of six laps, it was already evident that this race would be hard fought, as Harrison Watts made the move on Thompson to lead by 0.047, with less than half a second separating first from fifth.

Larkin and Alexander Codey did their best in sixth and seventh to catch the leading group, but without the tow it was very difficult work.

Three laps down the leading pack of five was three seconds ahead of the next riders, with plenty of jostling for position throughout each lap. Crossing the line to start lap four – the gap to fifth was under a third of a second.

Watts was still looking strong, taking the bulk of the time in the lead, even if it’s never more than a few corners at a time as this group was not afraid to put the moves on each other on a near-constant basis…

Starting lap five, Bodie Paige with the bright red helmet decided the time was right and took the lead down the straight, continuing to hold on for the entire lap and even over the line – holding off Watts in the tow.

Rende managed to claw his way back in to take the lead once more from Paige, setting up the move on the exit of Michelin corner to hold on through Suzuki corner and into the Yamaha chicane. But right on the back of Rende coming out of the last corner was Paige, who tucked in with a perfectly timed tow to take the win by just 0.011, barely the width of a tyre.

Rende held on to second place with Watts right behind rounding out the podium.

RACE THREE

Levi Russo made the grid this time out and with a solid start held the lead into turn one.

In the usual OJC fashion the lead group exchange the lead numerous times throughout the first lap and by the end of lap one it was Harrison Watts leading Bodie Paige with Hudson Thompson and Russo in third and fourth.

From second place on lap two, Thompson made a mistake at the entry to Suzuki corner ending his race early, losing the front under brakes into the right hander.

A bit of a gap emerged as the leading group reacted to the collapse of Thompson, but by the start of lap four it was all back to the usual tight racing with Paige leading the way.

Marcus Hamod and Paige battled throughout lap four exchanging the lead, with Cameron Rende, Watts and Russo keeping them honest.

In the midfield, a second group was tucked closely together led by Hunter Corner with another five bikes, all within half a second of each other.

Into the final lap, Rende took the lead, but we’ve seen time and time again that it means almost nothing if you can’t find a good halfsecond gap before the tow kicks in onto the main straight.

A mistake by Hamod, drifting out onto the grass, gave Watts a great little gap coming into the Yamaha chicane. The gap was about 0.25 but it wasn’t enough, and Watts was completely swamped heading across the line.

The timing board showed Rende the winner by 0.73 over Watts and Paige in third 0.05 behind Watts, and it took a video review to confirm the result. Hamod did well to hold onto fourth after his excursion on the grass, holding out Russo in fifth.

The second pack came across the line eight seconds adrift of the leaders, with Ryan Larkin taking sixth from Sam Drane, and only 0.577 splitting sixth from tenth.

Round Five – bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup at MotoGP, Phillip Island, Victoria

The bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup ran as a support class for the Australian MotoGP round, with round victors up on the podium in front of 40,000 fans, in the same spot the MotoGP race winners would stand shortly thereafter.

Ryan Larkin banked enough points from his two race wins to finish on the overall podium, while Levi Russo finished in second place, equal on points with the inaugural Mick Doohan Trophy winner and top OJC racer of the weekend, Hudson Thompson.

Friday saw three sessions of on-track action, starting with Free Practice, into Qualifying and finishing with the first race of the weekend.

Larkin took pole with a 2:12.175, Hunter Corney placed second 0.389 behind and Marcus Hamod completed the front row 0.419 behind the pole time.

RACE ONE

Sam Drane, who started in seventh on the third row, had a fantastic start, moving to second by the end of the first lap, while Cameron Rende took crossed the line in first from fourth.

It was apparently very early in the race, that the traditional trading places game would be on the cards, with numerous leaders over the first two laps. Rende fell to ninth by the end of lap two, while Watts took the lead.

ASBK SEASON RECAP

On lap three, Watts looked to build a lead but as they crossed the line, he had fallen to seventh while Rende had returned to battle at the front to dice with Larkin for the lead. Ella McCausland became the unfortunate first to crash at turn ten and did not return to the race.

fourth to first on the first lap, with Harrison Watts, Ryan Larkin, Marcus Hamod and Alexander Codey, all within 0.127s at the line.

The 30,000 strong crowd were treated to lap-after-lap of incredibly tight racing, and a five-wide battle to the line for almost every single lap.

By the end of the third lap, the front group of 12 had broken away from the rest of the field, but within this dozen, it was still anyone’s race to win as they were split by only 1.233s, with Rende having to battle with almost half the field to try and hold onto first.

Ella McCausland managed to work her way up as high as fourth on lap four and was right in the mix throughout, while Levi Russo had fallen to 12th only to move to fourth on the very next lap.

Lap four saw Marcus Hamod, Alexander Codey and Drane come together in a crash at turn two, dropping the leading group from nine riders to just six. While the trio thankfully returned to their feet, their races were over.

After a tussle for position throughout the final lap, Larkin played the best hand with the perfect run to the line, edging out Levi Russo by just 0.008 and Rende by 0.012. Watts came home in fourth an agonizing 0.013 behind the podium, missing out on a step for the first time in seven straight races.

RACE TWO

Following the completion of Moto2 Free Practice 3, the bLU cRU OJC riders took to the track for what would be an incredible second race.

Cameron Rende was first to jump to the front, working from

On lap five, it was Larkin who took the lead with two-to-go as the pack of 12 continued the fight, separated by less than one second as they jostled and toyed with how best to use the precious tow down Gardner Straight.

The final two laps finally saw a crack appear, splitting off the front seven from the pack of twelve, but it was no more than a crack. Hunter Corney led the chasing group that included Hudson Thompson, James Weaver, McCausland and Teerin Fleming.

Up front it was Russo who took the lead – from 12th two laps prior – into the final lap, thrilling the crowd as the top three of Hamod, Alexander Codey and Russo, were split by 0.009 at the line.

The final lap went to the wire as expected. It was all down to who could set up the best on the exit of turn 10 onto the big sweeping final two corners. Larkin played his cards to perfection to take back-to-back wins, while Rende managed to hold off Russo to take second by 5 thousandths of a second.

RACE THREE

The final race of the weekend for the OJC took to a wellrubbered, but cooling track. All eyes were on Ryan Larkin from the outset, with a perfect-points weekend on the cards.

From the moment the lights went out at the start, it was clear that the field of 20 were growing in track knowledge and confidence, and while the lap times had dropped by around two seconds from the midday race, the racing had become closer.

he made the move, so did Andrew. Larkin made contact with the rear of Andrew’s YZF-R15 from behind, resulting in a crash that also collected Cameron Rende.

Andrew hit the ground quite awkwardly, resulting in a trip to medical, but thanks to the wonderful protection afforded by his Shark helmet and Ricondi leathers, the likeable and distinctive young man that is Elijah Andrew was cleared the following morning of any serious injury.

The chaos of Miller corner opened the door for a number of extraordinary big moves. Bodie Paige went from 14th to first, Levi Russo made it to second from 13th and Weaver was sizing up the podium along with a rapid Ella McCausland. While McCausland joined the series mid-season, her rapid rise from back marker to contender was noted by many.

But it was the Bodie Paige show for the rest of the race. After capitalising on the chaos of lap four, Paige edged out to a half-second lead coming into the last lap – an eternity on a circuit like Phillip Island where the tow can be so powerful.

As the pack rounded the crucial turn 10 one final time, it looked like Paige could be swamped by the trio of Sam Drane, Hudson Thompson and McCausland. But the #74 kept his cool, became one with the bike, and brought it home for the win.

Drane was next just 0.169 behind, while Thompson managed to hold off McCausland to take a critical third place.

On lap three, Harrison Watts had taken the lead to start the lap, only to low-side his Yamaha YZF-R15 mid-way through the newly named Miller corner – Turn four. Watts managed to pick the bike back up and finish the race to score what could be crucial points come the finale at the Bend next month.

On the next lap, Miller corner became the sight of ‘the big one’. Larkin was looking to make a move to line up on the inside of the pack of riders coming into turn four, but just as

ASBK SEASON RECAP

Round Six - Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Victoria

FRIDAY

ASBK ‘22: Round 6 Friday. There’s No Take Away Here...

The Friday of Round Six - held alongside the World Superbike event - saw all classes in the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Moul (ASBK) on track in the morning for first practices followed by afternoon sessions that were made up of qualifying for Dunlop Supersport 300 & Michelin Supersport, a second practice session for Alpinestars Superbike and the first race of the weekend with the 300s rounding out the day with an eight-lap journey.

A dry (and incredibly- a sunny) day today, it was interesting to see what the riders were capable of and just what takeaways they would have for when it turns damp- tomorrow...

Dunlop Supersport 300

First Practice

The day opened to the sweetest sunshine one could possibly imagine. After the doom and gloom of the recent MotoGP event and the still gloomy forecast for the weekend ahead, it was just what the assembled crowd wanted.

Ryan Larkin opened up early with the fastest lap, but soon it was down to the proper business of going fast with the 300s feeling the pressure of a single practice session.

Championship contenders and race winners alike in Hayden

Nelson, Snell, and Dunker all took a turn at the top and then 29th-in-the-championship rider Peter Nerlich uncorked a 1:49.488 to take the top spot for the session aboard a Kawasaki.

Whatever predictions had been made ahead of round six were sinking into the soft Phillip Island grass.

Qualifying

Qualifying was also held in bright sunshine, with the merciful weather Gods apparently happy to lull the Superport 300 crew into some sense of complacency and comfort.

As they are want to do at a fast circuit like Phillip Island, the Dunlop Supersport 300s formed a formidable pack with the fast guys exchanging lap times and fairing paint. Third overall Taiyo Aksu was fastest for much of the session, but as the

minutes wound down it was Cameron Dunker up into P1, with second-in-the-championship Glenn Nelson 11th and struggling. While Supersport 300 racing can and does offer many opportunities to pass, being 1.2 seconds off pole will make life very tough if Nelson wants to contend for the title.

At the end of the session, it was Aksu from Snell, Hayden Nelson, Dunker and Gawith.

Race 1

For all the efforts the riders make in qualifying, in Supersport 300, more often than not it makes nearly no difference.

For Taiyo Akso, the back half of the season has seen him hit a purple patch that could still propel him to the championship, but Phillip Island rarely respects form. As Troy Herfoss had

noted earlier in the day “Everything has to be right here and you can still find yourself P10”. For Taiyo that meant a slide from P1 to P5 by lap three. While he remained close to the front- indeed spending some time in second late in the race, P5 was all he could manage at race’s end, just .4 behind the eventual winner Henry Snell who started alongside Aksu from position 2.

Where Aksu had slipped down to fifth, Snell had gone big and dropped as low as seventh on lap two. Riding a mature and calculated race, Snell didn’t allow this setback and the short 8-lap race to deter him, immediately working back into third place within in a lap and at this point, he might have just bided his time for the all-important run to the line- a critical skill in Supersport 300 racing at any time, but super-mega critical at Phillip Island.

Instead, Snell ran afoul of some pretty heavy passing and “rubbin’s racin’” shenanigans and found himself eighth with a lap to run. A brilliant -and his fastest - lap saw Snell’s #12 Yamaha salute in first place and take the maximum 25 points. Championship leader Cameron Dunker played a sensible hand to finish second and Hayden Nelson was third.

Dunker maintains a healthy points advantage over Glenn Nelson who was unable to substantially lift from a lowly 11th qualifying position, ending up in ninth.

Michelin Supersport Free Practice 1

Another early session, but bright sun and near-perfect conditions greeted the Supersport riders as they ventured out for their single practice session of the event.

With the single practice in mind, there wasn’t much time

to mess about, and just three minutes into the 25 minute session it was Jack Passfield who dropped into the 1:30s with a 1:39.551 He would better his own time shortly after with 1:37.776

Tom Bramich would signal his intentions for the weekend as he topped the table, just dipping under Passfield’s time with 1:37.717

Passfield would beat Bramich’s time (1:37.512) and then dip lower again (1:37.029) and this time would sit in the hot seat right up until the last few minutes of the session before Bramich would assert himself and bite off a significant and valuable couple of tents to top the session with 1:36.905.

The Championship conders in first and second places -Lytras and Lynch- were third (1:37.390) and fifth (1:37.925) respectively as practice one ended.

Qualifying

A rude shock for the riders with just the one 25-minute practice session before launching into a 20-minute qualifying session after lunch.

“It’s the same for everyone” opined Tom Bramich- but he would say that after being fastest in the first and only practice session.

Jack Passfield was fastest out of the gate again and his methodology appeared to be “post something fast early, make ‘em chase you down”.

With only 20 minutes in the session, Ty Lynch had one out lap before heading back to the pits. An interesting strategy with the session short and the speed high from the get-go.

ASBK SEASON RECAP

Jacob Hatch crashed out at Turn four and could only wait and see if his time would hold. Bramich made it business as usual with a 1:36.756 placing him back to P1 per the morning’s practice.

With half the session gone, Ty Lynch’s absence was not a strategy, it was a problem. A technical issue had seen him return to the pits early. As a result, he was yet to post a fast lap and was languishing down in 18th- last. His only chance of winning the championship was via taking advantage of Lytras’ non-domination of the PI circuit and instead Lytras was up in P3.

It was a full-on panic. Eight minutes to go, the R6 of a clearly injury-ridden Ty Lynch finally posted a top-ten time, but the opportunity to get to the front row was fast running out. Eight became sixth, but he was still 1.2 seconds behind the leaders.

Bramich was comfortably .3 ahead of second-placed Passfield and .7 ahead of third-placed Lytras.

Eleventh-placed Tom Drane crashed at fashionable-forthis-round-spot turn four. With his home region flooded, it appeared that the flat track champion may have had other things on his mind. He remounted and returned to the pits.

At the end of the session, it was Bramich from Passfield and Lytras to set up an interesting race on Saturday.

Tom Bramich (centre) will start from pole alongside Passfield (left) and Lytras (right)

Alpinestars Superbike

With the apparently “luxury” of two practice sessions for Friday, there wasn’t the sort of pressure on the Superbike riders as the other classes, but with the championship tight, a number of guest and new riders aboard some fast machinery,

the pressure was still on at the jump.

Some 27 riders took to the circuit and it was Troy Herfoss who was at the top (1:33.700), enjoying some quality time as the fastest man at the circuit.

Glenn Allerton showed that the M1000RR likes it at the PI layout, while his former teammate from earlier in the year Josh Waters showed his hit out at MotoGP aboard a Boost Mobile with K-Tech Panigale was more than helpful as he too put in multiple bids for the top spot.

Reigning champions and the go-to man at PI Wayne Maxwell was top five as expected but not P1 as one might reasonably expect. The team had swapped bikes to ensure both were at their best, only to have the bike expire at Turn One. Maxwell thumbed a ride back to the pits and quickly ventured out on his #1 bike.

For all of Maxwell’s dramas, the real intrigue was with Mike Jones. Sixth and seventh for much of the session, he found himself in the unenviable position of needing to find a second to contend.

It was Josh Waters on lap ten who would set the fastest time of the session and with teammate Maxwell second, they found themselves some half a second ahead of surprise thirdplaced and top Yamaha runner, Ant West.

It was an intriguing first session and with rain predicted for the afternoon, perhaps the only dry session ahead of the weekend’s racing.

Free Practice Two

After FP1, the two Boost Mobile with K-Tech riders in Josh Waters (p1) and Wayne Maxwell (P2) could afford a little

smile of satisfaction after not only going 1-2 but doing so by half a second over third-placed Ant West. Importantly for Wayne Maxwell Mike Jones was 1.2 seconds adrift in seventh.

But it’s hard to keep a good man down and even harder to keep a champion under wraps. While Waters was soon up to P1 again, it was Mike Jones aboard his Yamaha who was up to P2 early in the session.

All teams were working on setup and not all were in sync with their runs for the session, so while Cru Halliday moved up to P2, Maxwell was just heading out for his final run of the session.

But it was Josh Waters comfortably atop the timing screens, impressing the pundits in just his second event aboard the clearly dialled-in Craig McMartin prepared Panigale V4R.

Cru Halliday just willed his Yamaha into P2 from Ant West third and Wayne Maxwell in P4.

the bike’s quite good, so I’ve just been trying to customise it to me and we just keep chipping away”

SATURDAY ALPINESTARS SUPERBIKE QUALIFYING

The conditions for this morning’s Alpinestars Superbike qualifying were as good as one could currently imagine for fast times: overcast and cool with a dry track.

And so it was. Josh Waters departed pit lane, completed his out lap and then put his bike on pole with a record-breaking 1:31.286 He pitted for a time, but honestly if he had just stayed in and perhaps lit a cigar it would have been the stuff of legend.

No one would top his time for the rest of the session, and that is not to say the other riders were slow. By the end of the session, the top eleven were into the 32s, and four riders were in the 31s. Nearly every rookie set their fastest-ever Superbike lap time. Yeah, the conditions were good!

Championship leader Mike Jones struggled at times and found himself as low as 8th while teammate Cru Halliday didn’t bother the timing screens until halfway through the session.

The times fell as the time on the clock ran down. Staring dipped into the 1:31s by 1/1000th second with ten minutes

Overall for the day, it was Josh Waters, Wayne Maxwell and Cru Halliday.

The takeaways from the day were few with the weather set to play a bigger role from tomorrow onwards.

One takeaway of note was that the top riders in ASBK would have been well up the WSBK table, an impressive result for the local heroes against the more technically advanced and expensive World Superbike-spec machines.

Josh Waters: “Both our bikes were pretty good, but for me, the feeling was pretty good. We just went with what we had last time (at the MotoGP event).

to go, and finally, Halliday graced us with his presence on track and immediately placed himself one spot ahead of teammate Jones.

“Obviously

ASBK SEASON RECAP

Glenn Allerton found himself outside the top eight and would stay thusly.

And while beating Waters was proving to be impossible, Daniel Falzon unleashed his R1 and bettered his own personal best by over half a second, nailing down an incredible 1:31.596 to go to number two and claim fastest Yamaha of the session

The bloke who needed to be the fastest Yamaha - Mike Jones - was 8th at this point. While Maxwell wasn’t in P1, it was still a worrying sight for the championship leader.

Meanwhile, Waters was out again and to show it was no fluke, he just consistently lapped under Maxwell’s fastest lap.

With five minutes to go, Jones knocked out a 1:32.148 - 7th. Third row of the grid.

RACE ONE

And while it was not actually raining for the start of race one, it was most certainly wet. The riders tip-toed out on their wets and speculation in the paddock peaked. Westy from sixth? Mike to fire it up the inside of Maxwell? Would it dry up?

From the jump it was Falzon, but by turn one it was Josh Waters in the lead and before we really had a chance to consider who was where, Wayne Maxwell crashed on the exit of turn two and took with him his Boost Mobile with K-Tech Ducati Panigale V4R and perhaps his chance of winning the 2022 title.

After just one lap, Herfoss led from Staring, Allerton and Waters with West hanging on in fifth.

Jones was down in 13th and at any other time this would be a catastrophe, but with Maxwell out, it was a near non-issue.

At the front, the leading four traded spots like Supersport 300 racers and Sissis worked his way past West to set sail for the fast four out front.

After just five laps of twelve, the action and passing had been almost too much. Staring led, Allerton kept nudging towards the front and Herfoss was as low as fourth, but also set to lead if that wasn’t confusing enough.

Sissis had now wisely just measured his run towards the leading foursome but was knee down on wets through turn three just to keep all assembled a tad nervous and an absent Casey Stoner happy.

Maxwell put in a new tyre with five minutes to go. A final run beckoned and with it the chance to not only take pole and grab that precious single point.

But traffic and time would beat him and he was unable to pull out the desperately needed magic lap, despite managing to do the fastest first sector time twice without result.

At the podium receiving the AMX Superstores pole cheque was Josh Waters with Daniel Falzon (second) and Wayne Maxwell (third) rounding out the front row.

Mike Jones managed to work his way to fifth and would now start from the second row of the grid. Wayne Maxwell would be in front and slightly to his right at the start of the three races. With Ant West to Mike’s right, the starts would now be very, very interesting.

And... it was now raining.

On lap six, Staring completed the fastest lap of the race and pushed out to a .8 gap. Josh Waters put his head down and chased hard and attached his Ducati to the back of the

DesmoSport Ducati shortly after. Sissis passed a slowing Troy Herfoss.

There was a brief settling of the order, with Starting leading from Waters and Allerton, a gap back to Sissis and a further and growing gap back to the next group. Metcher and Pearson had overtaken Troy Herfoss and then Ant West who might have preferred it wetter to display his prodigious wet weather skills and be kinder to his Dunlop.

Mike Jones got ahead of Ted Collins and teammate Halliday to move up to 11th to just gather up a few more points.

With ten laps completed, Allerton got the better of Waters for second, while Staring continued to push hard in first place.

A frankly unwanted dry line had emerged and Staring now had a one-second gap off the front with a lap to run and further pushed it out to 1.2 as the chasing pair of Allerton and Waters waved the white flag.

At the line, it was Bryan Staring in a repeat of his round one, race one victory with Glenn Allerton second and Josh Waters in third. Arthur Sissis had one of the better rides of the day to finish a valiant fourth. Jed Metcher could feel justifiably pleased with his fifth place, Senna Agius admitted he had been rather nervous just exiting pit lane, but rode a mature and sensible race to finish in sixth, Broc Pearson was similarly sensible and measured in seventh.

Troy Herfoss wound up back in eighth, a disappointing outcome after variously leading and dicing with the front runners early on. Daniel Falzon was ninth after starting from second, but he had stated earlier that his fast lap in the dry was one for the ages and that race pace might be an issue.

Mike Jones finished a remarkable race in tenth place to bank 11 points and stretch his Championship lead over Wayne

Maxwell. Cru Halliday and Ant West were 11th and 12th respectively

With his DNF on lap one, not only did Maxwell concede more points to Jones, but also saw second place go to Bryan Staring on what was an extraordinary day for the championship.

Staring played the cards he had to perfection

Tomorrow sees the riders back for two more races to round out the weekend. As it has been in recent times, rain is of course forecast and the random nature of Phillip Island might be the king maker once again.

Bryan Staring: “Yeah, that was a really tough race, just reading the conditions every lap. Everything was changing

and trying to stay consistent was difficult. And I made some pretty amateur mistakes out there.

“Everything was changing underneath us so quickly, now that it’s finished, it seems like it was an enjoyable race. But honestly, like you’re you’re on a knife’s edge the whole time trying to keep the bike on two wheels.

“I worked out, I had some drive grip on the guys and then I could use my top speed to my advantage. And after I sort of understood that, then I just worked it to where I needed to be. I knew I was slow in a few areas, but I thought ‘I’ll concentrate on my strengths here, minimize the mistakes and where I can’t push it’ and in the end, I’m so glad we got there!”

Glenn Allerton: “A lot happened. It was a race of attrition.

“With all the guys, what was great about that race was that

ASBK SEASON RECAP

we are all champions in our own right - that whole front four. I could have reached out and touched Bryan a couple of times, we were that close to each other, that close on the edge of grip. Yeah, it was a lot of fun.”

Josh Waters: “It’s good to be on the podium! The race was close in parts and it was good to be a part of it!

“There are a few areas we can make better for tomorrow if the conditions are wet again..”

MICHELIN SUPERSPORT

RACE ONE

Pole sitter Tom Bramich ought to have been feeling reasonably confident ahead of race one this morning, having topped the timesheets in practice and qualifying reasonably comfortably.

It’s been a confident and affirming time for Bramich who started the year well, but had a series of falls, issues and subpar results that makes a championship unlikely, even if it’s mathematically possible.

Bramich lead the field early and found himself at the front

managed to grind out a 0.6 second gap. Fourth through sixth (Nicholson, Lynch and Skeer) were able to then attach themselves to the lead group to keep it interesting for championship watchers and race fans alike.

Rain flags came out on lap six, as we apparently didn’t have enough drama. Scott Nicholson crashed and valiantly tried to get going again from the gravel trap at turn nine.

..and then there were five at the front. Tom Drane was up in sixth, but some 6 seconds behind fifth. Skeer pitted.

Bramich found the pace a little tough and dropped to fourth, Declan Carberry crashed at turn eleven and...

The red flag came out and we called a ceasefire.

The rain pulled a “classic Phillip Island” and refused to fall in earnest, but certainly damped things. Then it did rain in earnest, we all looked at the dismal radar images and the grid was a flurry of teams swapping to wets for the restart.

The assembled foreign media asked local media what they thought the weather would do and received a collective shrug.

The Island does what The Island does.

Several riders departed pit lane for what was perhaps a sighting lap and Lynch and Lytras found themselves apparently set to start from pit lane.

And then they declared the race done - with partial points awarded - and we all ran to the podium to see who won.

In the end, it was Passfield from Bramich and Lynch. Lytras was fourth to keep the championship reasonably safe and the half points for the shortened race did him no harm whatsoever.

To quote Werner Herzog, “ There is no harmony in the universe”.

Race Two

of a group of three with Passfield and Lytras for company. Scott Nicholson hung on in fourth and the injured and mechanically plagued-on-Friday Ty Lynch.

For Lynch to have any chance of challenging Lytras for the title, he would need to not just challenge him at Phillip Island, he would need to beat him and get a few other riders between them.

On lap four, Passfield overtook Bramich for the lead and

Unusually and perhaps outrageously, race two for Michelin Supersport started on the dry track in bright sunshine. Weird, we know.

John Lytras jumped pole sitter Bramich to take the lead while a keen-to-get-involved Ty Lynch moved up to third.

Keer moved past Lynch to make things tricky for the challenger while Lytras was being simultaneously passed by a determined Tom Bramich.

At MG, turn 10, Skeer and Lynch came together and both slid off and out of contention. It was a tough blow for the already injured Lynch, who would now also concede more points to Lytras. ASBK Race Direction placed the incident under investigation.

Passfield was now promoted to third, but some 1.3 seconds behind the leading duo of Bramich and Lytras. Nicholson was some seven second further back, so the battle for the podium seemed settled.

Passfield pulled out the fasted lap of the race on lap four and this brought him to the leaders and a new battle began. Passfield was happy to show Lytras a wheel into turn one and do the same again at turn four.

Lytras clearly felt Passfield presence and rode slightly defensively as a result. Passfield completed yet another fastest lap of the race and celebrated by passing Lytras through turn one. Passfield was inevitable with his pace and took the lead at the Hayshed and lead the trio onto the straight to complete lap six.

and Johnny are always good in a close battle. I knew that there were going to be a few of us fighting at the front.

“I was planning to overtake him (Passfield), but when the door opened I was pretty happy, I just needed to hold on through the last sector and I got to the line..!

Dunlop Supersport 300

Race One

Aksu leads the field away and of course he only does so to allow Dunker, Snell at al to get a run on him. A pack of eight forms by lap one and they trade spots.4

While he was fast when chasing, leading is another caper altogether and Bramich was able to get ahead. Passfield returned the favour and Lytras just sensibly watched on. Passfield was able to gap Bramich a fraction and this prevented a main straight slipstream, so he lead into the 8th lap.

John Quinn had crashed heavily, but uninjured to end his run.

Through the final lap, Passfield continued to lead and then had a brain fade at MG- turn 10- and ran wide, allowing a surprised Bramich to use his considerable skill through turns 11 and 12 to advantage to take the win by 59/1000th of a second.

Tom Bramich: “I knew it was going to be a close race, Jack

Dunker consistently placed his R3 at the front of the pack, perhaps reasoning that the best way to stay out of trouble is to keep it behind you. While a solo break away in the Supersport 300 class is unusual, it’s also not impossible so Dunker just kept plugging away, but never found himself too far from his octet of willing sparring partners.

At the halfway point, the leading eight riders were- in no particular order as it’s impossible: Snell, Aksu, Swain, Pezzetta, Hayden Nelson, Dinker, Gawith and Glenn Nelson who managed to latch on to the lead group. Nerlich and Larkin rounded out the top tan, but Nerlich fell on the second last lap.

The final lap saw Dunker drop as low as eighth, Pezzetta lead, Aksu close to the front and Nelson and Snell there abouts as well.

As noted previously, The Island rewards the clever in the Supersport 300 class and while Cameron Dunker was able to time his run pretty well, it was Henry Snell who saluted in first place after playing his cards to perfection.

Another brilliant 300 race- and all before 10am!

ASBK SEASON RECAP

SUNDAY

Phillip Island Round Six Sunday: We Have Some Answers, But Not All of Them...

The final day of Round Six saw Phillip Island at its absolute best in the morning and then remind everyone during the lunch break who’s boss with a solid shower followed by some sun, then rain... look, we’re all a bit traumatised by The Island weather so let’s just leave it there.

How was the racing? When is it not fantastic?

It was fantastic. The intrigue and the what-could-have-been factor was high for some, while the championship favourites played the game to their advantage across the board.

Alpinestars Superbike

Race Two

The predicted rain of course stayed away, mostly to spite the forecasters.

A clichÈ we apparently can’t stop using, but nonetheless continue to use unabated is: “this could be the one that decides the title”.

Maxwell was now sixth and had Mike Jones for company in seventh. While we were looking the other way, Herfoss took the lead from Falzon and Waters.

Waters started lap two fourth and was first by turn four, Herfoss was down to second, Allerton third and Falzon had been passed by a seemingly desperate and loose Wayne

The tension was evident amongst the field as they sat on the media grid, with stern faces all round. At the start, Falzon jumped away and Maxwell blew it to create more apparently necessary drama and found himself back in eighth. Waters settled into second with Herfoss rounding out the top three.

Simultaneously, Herfoss went into second, Allerton up to third with Waters shuffled down to fourth.

Maxwell. Agius tried a slightly ambitious move on Halliday but was unable to move up to seventh.

Mike Jones had shuffled about and was now eighth. Maxwell’s charge continued and somehow he was now up to second. The intriguing scenario was finally upon us; new teammate Waters was leading and Maxwell needs those 25 points. Waters was 1.6 seconds up the road, so pulling over and waiting for his teammate was not yet necessary.

Mike Jones, seeing Maxwell near the front, realised he needed to limit his losses and passed Falzon to move up to seventh.

Maxwell was on near-lap-record pace in unfavourable windy conditions, some .3 of a second a lap faster than Waters. The gap was still 1.3 seconds as they hit the line to complete lap five.

Herfoss was under attack from Halliday for third and it felt inevitable that the Yamaha R1 would make the pass on the Penrite Honda.

Herfoss made the CBR1000RR as wide as possible, but Halliday was dogged after a less-than-satisfactory (for him) Saturday result. The two riders would continue their hard dicing corner after corner.

Ant West’s charge came to an end at turn four when he went

in a little too hard while trying to pass Allerton when he ran in deep and folded the front end.

Mike Jones was now pushing hard, realising that Maxwell was heading towards Waters and potentially a race win. The championship leader moved up to sixth after taking Allerton and then had a good look at Bryan Staring who was in fifth.

Halliday and Herfoss continued their battle into lap eight and Maxwell found himself on the pipe of teammate Waters and then into the lead as they swept into turn one. There were some murmurs in the media centre, but Waters always knew how this scenario would pan out.

While this was going on, Cru Halliday finally found a way past Herfoss for third and Jones was past Staring for fifth to limit his losses. Staring wasn’t going quietly however and was showing Jones a wheel at every opportunity, putting the DesmoSport Ducati’s horsepower to good use.

Maxwell was now .6 ahead of Waters and just needed to stay calm and bring it home. Waters had an insurmountable 5 second lead over third placed Halliday.

As they hit the line, Maxwell took the win and as they cooled down into turn two, had his head on a swivel to see where Jones had finished. Jones was down in fifth and doing all he needed to continue his seemingly inexorable run to the title in a week’s time.

Was the championship now decided? Some certainly thought so, with Jones on schedule- just needing to finish fifth for the remaining races to secure the title.

There were now 76 maximum points left in season 2022 and Jones led by 31 points.

Waters led Maxwell, but not for long.

Race Two result: Maxwell (centre) from Waters (left) and Halliday (right)

Race Three

The World Superbikes had just completed their Superpole race as the ASBK bikes rolled out of their garages and where there was confusion ahead of the start in WSBK about whether to start on wets, dry tyres or a combination of both, it was far clearer for the ASBK crew; dry, dry, dry!

For all the talk of two wet races for Sunday, we were now on the verge of a second fully dry race and it was hard to see if the riders were relieved or disappointed.

There was agreement that fast-drying wet track race like we had in race one would be a nightmare, the past was now exactly that, as we stared down the barrel of the third last race of season 2022 for the Alpinestars Superbike class.

Away we went into the unknown. Falzon got another good jump, but it was Josh Waters who lead them away.

Through southern loop they settled briefly and then Mike Jones effectively secured the title when Maxwell booped the back of Herfoss and fell off as they went into turn four and the Boost Mobile with K-Tech Ducati Panigale hit the deck.

Wayne Maxwell: Two DNFs and a win for 25 total points on a weekend where 76 points were needed.

Waters continued to lead with a resurgent Mike Jones in second and Herfoss in third. Then came Allerton (4th), Falzon up in fifth and Staring (6th).

Cru Halliday found himself down in ninth at a circuit he has always been close to the podium spot or at the front.

For all this drama, we were only on lap three.

Turn four claimed three more riders on riders on lap four after Daniel Falzon lost the front end and took Cru Halliday and Senna Agius with him.

Up front Herfoss was now up to second place but Josh Waters was 3.5 seconds up the road and setting fastest lap

times, but half a second off the race two pace.

Herfoss was now towing a long line of riders: Allerton, Jones, Staring and resurgent Ant West.

At half-race distance the action and aggression from the

ASBK SEASON RECAP

chasing packs was unrelenting. The dicing amongst the various packs was allowing Josh Waters to set off for the finish.

Staring and Jones decided to have their own incident into turn four and the resulting touch sent winglet of Staring’s bike flying off his Ducati. While these two fought tooth and nail, Waters headed into the final lap with a smaller but still comfortable three-second lead while Herfoss was back up to the back of third-placed Jones.

At the finish, it was Josh Waters for the race and round win, salvaging something for the team after the disaster that was Wayne Maxwell’s double DNF situation. Staring saluted for second with resurgent Mike Jones on the box in third. Herfoss had muscled his way to fourth with Glenn Allerton fifth, Jed Metcher up to sixth, Arthur Sissis in seventh, Broc Pearson topping the rookies with eighth, a happier Max Stauffer in ninth and Matt Walters on his Kawasaki rounding out the top ten.

The overall result saw Waters from Staring with Allerton in third.

Staring overtook Herfoss down the straight but was unable to hold the spot. Staring continued to show him a wheel as often as possible. Jones and West were clinging on to the chase group as Waters just continued to plug away.

Ant West’s miserable run -when he was showing genuine form- continued when he suffered a flat tyre on lap seven and retired. A tough weekend for the hugely talented and enigmatic racer.

With three to go, Waters was five seconds away from the main chase group that was led by Jones, from Staring and Allerton. Herfoss was seemingly having the fade out that has punctuated much of his weekend and then had an ambitious lunge at Allerton at turn four on lap ten. Allerton ran wide and onto the MotoGP long lap asphalt and both riders now found themselves with work to do if they wanted to get on the podium.

The championship? It’s not over, but race one at The Bend could see it all over. Jones sits comfortably atop on 269 points with Staring up to second on 238 and Wayne Maxwell third on 229.

With a maximum of fifty-one points on offer for the season, Mike Jones could be excused for making some room in his trophy cabinet.

Staring ahead of Mike Jones in race three Race three saw Waters from Staring and Jones third.

Round result: Waters, Staring and Allerton. An important result for Staring who is now second overall.

Michelin Supersport

Race Three

The riders form firmly established, we looked to Bramich, Passfield and Lytras at the start to jump away and they delivered in that order, although Nicholson was able to slip up into third and Lytras now found Ty Lynch directly behind him in fifth.

Further back, Nicholson (4th), McDonald (5th), Farsnworth (6th), Skeer (7th) and the clearly injured Lynch (8th) battled on.

Gaps opened everywhere, perhaps due to the strong breeze that took away some of the usual Phillip Island drafting. Bramich was now out to a 1.2 second lead and Passfield in second had a 2.0 second gap back to Lytras.

The race settled in for several laps and the gaps stayed steady. Lytras didn’t need to push to protect his title chances and Passfield just slowly worked his way back to Bramich, narrowing the gap to the lead and moving to less than a second. On lap eight, Passfield put a pretty hard pass on Bramich, ran wide, understandably shut the door and was in front through the rest of the lap.

Bramich was either happy to follow or unable to pass and

Up front, Passfield was now leading with Bramich settling for second... for now.

Lytras had returned the favour to Nicholson and was back in third and then we completed the first lap. Whew!

Bramich was back into the lead shortly after and Lytras was now challenging for that lead in second. He and Passfield traded spots and showed each other a wheel time and time again to keep it fun. Their shenanigans allowed Bramich to just slip away by a second.

settled in to follow and let Passfield know he wasn’t going anywhere. The pressure saw Passfield push the bike too hard and HE folded the front into turn six (Siberia) and crashed out of the race.

Bramich now enjoyed an eight-second advantage and Lytras inherited second place.

With the luxury of this large lead, Tom Bramich took his second win by 8.1 seconds to round off a terrific weekend for the Victorian-based former Supersport 300 champion.

The trio of (in race order) Bramich, Lytras and Passfield spent a lot of quality time together all weekend.

The overall weekend podium result was Bramich (centre) from Lytras (left) and Nicholson (right)

ASBK SEASON RECAP

Dunlop Supersport 300

The 300s jumped away in the kindest possible bright sun and Snell led them out of southern loop to turn four. As a sign of the field’s growing maturity through the year, all riders made it to turn four in all three races upright and racing.

That said, ASBK Race Direction placed the start under review for jumped start/s.

Dunker led through the back half of the circuit onto the straight. The leading group consisted of Dunker, Snell, Hayden Nelson, Pezzetta, Cameron Swain, Glenn Nelson and polesitter Taiyo Aksu.

Through lap three, Cameron Dunker put his head down to try to get a gap or force errors and moved out to a .3 second advantage. The leading trio of Dunker, Snell and Hayden Nelson were now out to an overall 1.4 gap and the second bunch appeared to decide to work together to ensure they weren’t out of the podium running.

The battle for ninth was so tough there was a brief swapping of paint on the main straight to remind everyone that 300s race hard no matter where they are or who they are against.

Diminutive Dunker was hard at it lap after lap and somehow worked his way to a near two second gap and with two laps to go, a rare solo win in the 300s seemed possible.

Glenn Nelson’s tough weekend got tougher with a crash that made challenging for the championship far tougher.

Dunker however was sublime. A 2.5 second gap was now too much for the followers to chase down. The only person who could beat him was Dunker himself.

Three riders went down at turn four, an overly optimistic passing move up the inside saw Aksu, Swain and two race winner at this event Snell go down.

Dunker hit the line alone with an extraordinary 2.4 second gap from Hayden Nelson and Sam Pezzetta.

The 300s weekend was done, but the recriminations and “discussions” continued amongst the stranded riders at turn four.

Coming into the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship (WSBK) round, the Alpinestars Superbike Championship is in a fascinating and potentially game-changing position.

From round one – ironically at Phillip Island earlier this year – reigning Champion Wayne Maxwell has made defending his Championship unusually difficult, and at times, seemingly impossible. While he was dominant in every session leading into race one on Sunday the 27th of February, not long after the flag dropped, he found himself in the gravel trap at The Hayshed on lap five.

Failing to capitalise on his favourite circuit has proved costly for the former Champion. A resurgent Bryan Staring was rightly brimming with confidence aboard the DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4R. It became the running joke “Maxwell is behind by about the length of The Hayshed”.

Though quiet at Phillip Island, Mike Jones was able to impress himself upon the Championship via outstanding results at Queensland Raceway (two wins plus an extra point for pole). Pole plus a win at Wakefield saw Jones just pull ahead from the rest of the field, while Maxwell found himself unable to make a dent in Jones’ lead.

The Hidden Valley round in Darwin saw Maxwell start to loosen his grip on the title and Jones moved into warm and rightful Championship favouritism. Jones was at his tenacious best on a weekend where the Yamaha was not the preferred machine but still caught the flight south with 70 points in his carry-on luggage, while pole-sitter Maxwell was troubled in races one and three, netting just 53 points on a three-race 76-points-on-offer weekend.

Darwin also saw a joyful and resurgent Penrite Honda Troy Herfoss well involved, taking second overall on his CBR1000RR for a very-much welcomed return to the ASBK podium, while Staring powered his way to third to keep himself in the top three for the season.

At Morgan Park, the Yamaha R1 was expected to enjoy the tight and bumpy running at the 1.5km circuit. Despite this, Maxwell muscled and wrestled his Boost Mobile by K-Tech Panigale V4R for an unexpected

pole and two wins, keeping his Championship hopes alive. He still faces a 29-point deficit with 127 maximum points left in season 2022.

And so here we are, back at The Island for another three-race weekend. It’s fair to say that Maxwell has- when upright- been the go-to racer at this circuit since 2009, so expectations are high and with it, the pressure, and at various critical moments this year, team and rider issues have proved costly.

This WSBK round has much intrigue because at round one at Phillip Island, Jones was third overall with both Staring and Cru Halliday ahead of him. Team-mate Halliday saves his best racing for the Phillip Island GP Circuit and if Maxwell stays upright and up front for all three races, and some other riders can climb up the order, then the 29-point deficit could be down to single-digits heading into the finale at The Bend.

The Bend, where Maxwell took the double win in 2021 to clinch the title…

ALPINESTARS SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP TOP 6 AFTER ROUND 6

FIRST SURNAME STATE MAKE MODEL SPONSOR 1 Wayne MAXWELL VIC DUCATI P V4R Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech

Jed METCHER VIC YAMAHA YZF-R1 727 Moto

Broc PEARSON QLD DUCATI PANIGALE V4R DesmoSport 9 Billy MCCONNELL SA YAMAHA YZF-R1 727 Moto 10 Travis WYMAN USA YAMAHA YZF-R1M Addicted to Track 12 Matt WALTERS NSW KAWASAKI ZXR10 Kawasaki Australia, Kawasaki Connection, Australian Motorcycle Marine Finance, Pirelli, AGV, Motul, Duspeed Driving Performance Rover Coaches

Anthony WEST QLD YAMAHA YZF-R1M MotoGo, Yamaha, Dunlop

Glenn ALLERTON NSW BMW M1000RR Spectro Performance Oils .Film BMW 16 Josh HOOK NSW HONDA CBR1000 SPL Thriller Motorsport

Troy HERFOSS QLD HONDA CBR1000 SPL Penrite Honda Racing 21 Josh WATERS VIC DUCATI V4R Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech 23 Marcell SCHRÖTTER GER YAMAHA YZF-R1M Thriller Motorsport 25 Daniel FALZON SA YAMAHA YZF-R1M William Adams CAT 27 Max STAUFFER NSW YAMAHA YZF-R1M GTR MotoStars Team

Sloan FROST NZ BMW M1000RR Spectro Performance Oils .Film BMW

Michael EDWARDS QLD YAMAHA YZF-R1 Addicted to Track 43 Jack MILLER QLD DUCATI V4R Thriller Motorsport 46 Mike JONES QLD YAMAHA YZF-R1M Yamaha Racing Team 51 Chandler COOPER VIC HONDA CBR1000 SP1 Rock Solid Civil Michelin

Ben BURKE NSW KAWASAKI ZX10RR BC Performance Australian United Timbers 61 Arthur SISSIS SA YAMAHA YZF-R1M Unitech Racing

Brendan MCINTYRE NSW SUZUKI GSXR-1000RR Western Motorcycles Sydney & HDT Special Vehicles

Michael KEMP SA YAMAHA YZF-R1 SA Pool and Spa Services 65 Cru HALLIDAY NSW YAMAHA YZF-R1M Yamaha Racing Team

Joel KELSO NT BMW M1000RR Livson Racing 67 Bryan STARING WA DUCATI V4 R DesmoSport

Paris HARDWICK NSW KAWASAKI ZX10 The Construction Team

Nathan SPITERI VIC BMW M1000RR Livson Racing

Senna AGIUS NSW HONDA CBR1000 SPL Penrite Honda Racing 86 Beau BEATON NSW DUCATI V4 R North Coast V-twins, Beaton's HVAC & Refrigeration

easy to control

Developed to suit amateur to experienced riders and all types of motorbikes.

Warm-up

The tyre provides the grip needed from the first laps. The materials used allow the rubber to warm up quickly. It benefits from the latest technologies developed in MotoGP™.

Performance made to last

The tyre delivers consistent performance, stint after stint*. Consistence achieved thanks to a footprint that is uniform over the various camber phases.

The tyre provides the grip needed from the first lap. The materials used allow the rubber to warm up quickly. It benefits from the latest technologies developed in MotoGP™.

The tyre delivers consistent performance, lap after lap. Consistence achieved thanks to a footprint that is uniform over the various camber phases.

Warm-up Performance made to last Driving ease

Treaded version of the MICHELIN Power Performance Slick, developed to suit both amateur and experienced riders and all motorbikes. The tyre is optimized for Supersport 600cc bikes riding in national and international championships.

Extreme grip even in the rain!

Specially designed so that your track days and races can go ahead even in the rain! The compound has been developed for maximum wet grip and its grooved tread ensures optimum water drainage.

MICHELIN SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP

With a number of graduates leaving the category, including 2021 Champion Broc Pearson plus contenders Max Stauffer and Tom Edwards, season 2022 has been wide open in terms of heirs-apparent.

Round one winner Senna Agius was always overseas-bound, so his cameo- plus Tom Edwards’ second place- really left us with little to no idea about who would be The One To Beat in 2022.

After Dunlop Supersport 300 reigning Champ Ben Baker bowed out due to injury, fellow contender Olly Simpson also out, and Tom Edwards disqualified due to a technical breach, it would fall to John Lytras to take up the running.

And while the leadership of the Michelin Supersport may have fallen to Lytras, it was a position he relished and grew into.

A handy double victory at Wakefield Park saw Lytras really take the season by the horns but any plans for an early Championship win were brought back to reality by an electrical problem at Morgan Park that saw him stranded multiple times in race one, forlornly rebooting his Yamaha but still scoring eight points in trying circumstances.

A win in race two saw him claw his way back into the Championship lead and now Lytras (151 points) enjoys a small six-point advantage heading into the final two rounds from Ty Lynch, (145 pts). Scott Nicholson (115 pts).

At Phillip Island in February for round one, Lynch beat Lytras by nine points for the weekend and mindful of the fact the leading contenders from round one will not be there, if Lynch beats Lytras this weekend, a good points result might see Lynch head to the final round with a small lead…

SURNAME STATE

MODEL SPONSOR 10 Noel MAHON VIC YAMAHA YZF – R6 Irt Motorsport, Rs Pipe & Civil, Aark, Quinn Mechanical, YRD, Moto Go, Ricondi

Bronson PICKETT WA YAMAHA YZF – R6 M&B Rubbish Disposal,K.E.B.Truck Parking, Aussie Moto Engineering, 21 Tarbon WALKER NSW YAMAHA YZF – R6 YRD, Blu Cru, Mototrack Accessories, Xpress Racewear 29 Harrison VOIGHT QLD YAMAHA YZF – R6 Voight Contracting, PWR 31 John QUINN VIC YAMAHA YZF – R6 Irt Motorsport,Quinn Mechanical,Rs Pipe&Civil,Sc Project,Ricondi 33 Jack FAVELLE NSW HONDA CBR600RR Motocity, Favelle Enteprise, Link 34 Cody WYMAN USA YAMAHA YZF-R6 Addicted to Track, Nortek, Atomised Dust Systems, Analysis Realty, Anthony Ryan 39 Scott NICHOLSON VIC YAMAHA YZF – R6 Traction Control Motorsports/ G. Williams Motorcycle Engineering/ Rst Moto/ Kyt Helmets/ Michelin 42 Jack PASSFIELD NSW YAMAHA YZF – R6 Stay Upright Rider Training, Gasd Suspension, Mcc Security, Kyt Helmets, 44 Tom BRAMICH VIC YAMAHA YZF – R6 Apex. The Bare Bird. Carl Cox Motorsport. Nolan Helmets. Ricondi. Fusport. Nelsigns 49 Jake FARNSWORTH NSW YAMAHA YZF – R6 Worth Race Developments, Kingsdene Automotive, Hi Tec Oil, Brisk Australia 59 Tom DRANE NSW YAMAHA YZF – R6 Css Iccons Sullivans Mining 61 Rhys BELLING VIC YAMAHA YZF – R6

LXI Racing, Yamaha Australia, YRD, The Grinning Dingo, RB Building Services, SB Is The Beez 66 Mitchell SIMPSON SA YAMAHA YZF – R6 YRD, Simpson Crash, Simpson Signs, Racebike Services 69 Archie MCDONALD NSW YAMAHA YZF - R6 Gowmoto 85 Ty LYNCH SA YAMAHA YZF-R6 Russell Phillips Motorsports 86 Dallas SKEER SA YAMAHA YZF-R6 YRD, Penrite, Pirelli, X-lite, Stefs Transport, Plus Racing Gear, Trident Tyre

Panigale V4 S

The Evolution of Speed

The evolution of performance

As is the case in MotoGP and WorldSBK, the Panigale V4 is updated and improved year after year, and the 2022 version represents the most significant evolution. This improvement takes in all aspects of the bike, the aerodynamics, engine, chassis, ergonomics, and electronics. The final outcome is a bike that is even faster on track and, at the same time, increasingly intuitive and less tiring, as effective in the hands of a professional rider as it is gratifying for an amateur.

New Panigale V4 S: evolution of speed.

Engine Desmosedici Stradale 90° V4 | Displacement 1,103 cc | Power * 158.5 kW (215.5 hp) at 13,000 rpm Torque * 123.6 Nm (91.2 lb-ft) at 9,500 rpm | Dry weight 174 kg (384 lb) |

Ducati. Find out more at your local dealer and on ducati.com Overseas model is shown and specifications may vary for the local model. The model in this image may feature accessories and merchandise that are not supplied as standard. Always wear protective motorcycle clothing when riding and obey local road regulations. Do not attempt to recreate the riding scene depicted in this image. Contact your Authorised Ducati Dealer for more information.

never stops at

DUNLOP SUPERSPORT 300 CHAMPIONSHIP

It’s been a year where ASBK management have policed the technical rules more than ever before. This has seen multiple riders and teams omitted from classification due to technical infringements, a game changer in terms of results and contenders.

After round one concluded, several riders were penalised, with Henry Snell propelled into the Championship lead.

At round two, yet another leading competitor was disqualified due to a breach of the technical regulations. Snell did not win a race and was only on the podium in the final race of the weekend. Mercifully for the Championship leader, the wins and points were shared evenly amongst the top five and incredibly Snell left round two with an increased lead.

Cameron Dunker at round three proved that his earlier wins were no fluke. A faultless weekend of pole plus three wins, saw him take the maximum 76 points and leap into the Championship lead.

Previous leader Snell was serviceable but not dominant, and as a result he dropped from first to fourth overall. James Jacobs and Glenn Nelson were second and third overall with the minimum three points separating second

through fourth.

A revitalised Taiyo Aksu took pole and two wins at round five at Morgan Park in a near-faultless display. Oceania Junior Cup Series 2021 winner Cameron Swain stood tall, taking a win in this always fiercely contested class. Henry Snell saw his Championship hopes fade, scoring a lowly 11 points, while Cameron Dunker- who was not on the podium all weekend- managed to escape Morgan Park with the Championship lead still his.

Right now, it’s nigh on impossible to predict who the Champion will be. While Dunker has an undeniably handy 29-point lead, a DNF or another poor point-scoring weekend could see Glenn Nelson or the so-hot-right-now Aksu get close to the leadership.

We’ll be off to The Bend with the Championship very much alive.

DUNLOP SUPERSPORT 300 CHAMPIONSHIP TOP 5 AFTER ROUND 6

Sam PEZZETTA Yamaha 181

# FIRST

SURNAME STATE MAKE MODEL SPONSOR

2 Luke JHONSTON VIC YAMAHA YZF - R3 The Bike Vault Castlemaine, Rbt Suppliers, Axle Armor, Agv Helmets, The Grinning Dingo 3 Cameron DUNKER NSW YAMAHA YZF - R3 Doctor Mak Engines, Kyt Helmets Australia, Rs&C - Micro Precision Cnc 12 Henry SNELL QLD YAMAHA YZF - R3 Megacycle Racing, Ricondi, AGV, TCX. Whitsunday Sands Resort, Pacific Palms 17 Joshua NEWMAN NSW KTM RC 390 23 Jordan SIMPSON SA YAMAHA YZF - R3 YRD, Simpson Crash, Simpson Signs, Racebike Services 25 Brodie GAWITH VIC YAMAHA YZF - R3 Megacycle Racing, Ricondi, AGV, TCX, Peter Stevens Motorcycles 26 Cameron SWAIN QLD YAMAHA YZF - R3 ProGP Racing 32 Jai RUSSO NSW YAMAHA YZF - R3 Russo Performance, Motostars, Ricondi, AGV Helmets, TCX Boots 39 Glenn NELSON QLD YAMAHA YZF - R3

AGV, XXX Rates Race Suspension, Art, Plug A Lug, Dynoverks, Fusport, Dynomite Mote, Always Livin, Jazz Basketball, Ricondi, Bennys Race Paint, Greenmount Racing 42 Jordan WHITE WA KAWASAKI Ninja 400 Inview TV, Gomoto Store & Track Action Moto Ridedays Wa 45 Jamie PORT VIC YAMAHA YZF - R3 Yamaha, Ricondi, Motul, AGV, Pirelli 48 Valentino KNEZOVIC NSW YAMAHA YZF - R3 Motocity, Favelle Enteprise, Link 51 Samuel PEZZETTA SA YAMAHA YZF - R3 Unitech Racing 57 Cooper ROWNTREE SA YAMAHA YZF - R3 Anytime Fitness, Baseline Fabrication 66 Mitchell SIMPSON SA YAMAHA YZF - R3 YRD, Simpson Crash, Simpson Signs, Racebike Services 72 Ryder GILBERT SA YAMAHA YZF – R3 Eagle Drones, Sturt Stump Cutters, Gilbert Design And Construct, The Insurance Office, Routleys Plumbing, Smeegle Creations, Southern Sparks 80 Cameron RENDE SA YAMAHA YZF - R3 Unitech Racing 87 Brock QUINLAN SA YAMAHA YZF - R3 RaceDNA, THR Developments, Ink Obsession

YAMAHA FINANCE R3 CUP

As the name of the class hints, the Yamaha Finance R3 Cup is for the dynamic little twin cylinder 320cc R3 machines. All competitors cross-enter into the Supersport 300, a class which is open to other manufacturers such as the Kawasaki Ninja 400 and the KTM 390.

The RC3 Cup is a great concept, as it gives the riders who are predominately teenagers a lot more track time - with three races of each class over the course of the weekend to speed up their learning curve on race craft - and test their race fitness!

The competition is intense and over the season, consistency in results is premium. One DNF can have a major bearing on success, but with the large amount of racing encompassing over 42 races over 7 rounds, it is almost guaranteed that every rider is going to have at least one tricky weekend during the season.

Glenn Nelson and Cameron Dunker started as pre-season favourites, but many others will have gained the confidence to push harder - given what they learnt in 2021. With riders like current OJC Champion, Cameron Swain entering the class, there will be a swathe of class debutants that will make an instant impression.

One constant that won’t alter is that rarely will you see any races decided before the final turn of the final lap! The last-lap slipstreaming drag to the line usually decides the victor, making the R3 Cup one of the most entertaining classes in ASBK.

ROUND 7 YAMAHA FINANCE R3 CUP RIDER LIST

# FIRST SURNAME STATE MAKE MODEL SPONSOR 2 Luke JHONSTON VIC YAMAHA YZF - R3 The Bike Vault Castlemaine, RBT Suppliers, Axle Armor, AGV Helmets, The Grinning Dingo 3 Cameron DUNKER NSW YAMAHA YZF - R3 Doctor Mak Engines | KYT Helmets Australia | RS&C - Micro Precision CNC | Ricondi Motorcycle Apparel | YRD Yamaha Racing Development Program | Yamaha Motor Australia | Racers Edge Performance | Knight Designs 12 Henry SNELL QLD YAMAHA YZF - R3 Megacycle Racing, Ricondi,AGV,TCX, Whitsunday Sands Resort, Pacific Palms Resort 13 Marcus HAMOD NSW YAMAHA YZF - R3 Motocity, Favelle Enteprise, Link 23 Jordan SIMPSON SA YAMAHA YZF - R3 YRD, Simpson Crash, Simpson Signs, Racebike Services 25 Brodie GAWITH VIC YAMAHA YZF - R3 Megacycle Racing, Ricondi, AGV, TCX, Peter Stevens Motorcycles 26 Cameron SWAIN QLD YAMAHA YZF - R3 Y-drive / Impella / Forcite / GB Racing / Bonamici Racing / Signpro / Pro-bolt / Rapidbike / JDS Moto / Cabulture Yamaha 32 Jai RUSSO NSW YAMAHA YZF - R3 Russo Performance, MotoStars, Ricondi, AGV Helmets, TCX Boots 39 Glenn NELSON QLD YAMAHA YZF - R3 AGV, XXX Rates Race Suspension, ART, Plug A Lug, Dynoverks, Fusport, Dynomite Mote, Always Livin, Jazz Basketball, Ricondi, Bennys Race Paint, Greenmount Racing 45 Jamie PORT VIC YAMAHA YZF - R3 Yamaha/Ricondi/Motul/AGV/Pirelli 46 William HUNT

Got the gear? Ride with it.

Since its inception in 2019, the FIM Oceania and Dorna Sportssupported bLU cRU - Oceania Junior Cup (OJC) has become firmly established as a stepping-stone to the international racing arena.

The OJC concept was created by Motorcycling Australia as a method of setting up a junior race academy that would produce a nurturing environment for young riders to experience road racing at a national level, to learn, improve and showcase their talents.

Even before the inaugural OJC season commenced in 2019, Dorna Sports officially recognised it as a Road to MotoGP category. As a result, a formal pathway was created for the most outstanding OJC riders to progress to other international categories, such as the Asia Talent Cup and Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. The Dorna commitment provided five guaranteed positions in the 2019 Asia Talent Cup Selection Event for riders from the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup, and cements MA’s objective to develop clear pathways for junior road racers in the Oceania region.

Even though it is only in its fourth season, OJC has already earned a formidable reputation as a breeding ground for stars of the future with 60 individual kids earning the road racing craft in that time.

The 2022 season will see nine new riders debut with the return of 11 riders from the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup 2021 year. Further, some 19 OJC graduates and current riders are racing overseas in 2022.

The OJC formula is simple, but effective. Competitors aged from 11 up to under 16 (as of January 1, 2022) compete against each other on identical Yamaha YZF-R15 race-prepped motorcycles, equipped with control Dunlop tyres, Öhlins suspension, YamalubeYamahalube and DID chains.

In the interests of making the entry-level pathway into motorcycle road racing as hassle-free as possible, the OJC package includes transport of the motorcycle to and from each round of the series, along with professional preparation and maintenance during and between events. This removes barriers to entry for competitors and families who may not have the logistics or technical expertise to prepare their own motorcycles.

OJC riders also receive (and keep!) Shark branded helmets, Ricondi leathers, boots, gloves and a team uniform as part of the deal. SHARK helmets joined the OJC at the start of 2022 and of course safety is their focus, with many elements learned from racing incorporated into the road helmet range.

One of the benefits of the OJC is the emphasis on young rider education throughout the year, as well as specialised training camps. In 2022, OJC competitors will be treated to an intensive training program as part of the junior road racing academy program and conducted by former 500cc Motorcycle and World Superbike winner, Garry McCoy.

Competitors receive tuition on racing and riding techniques as well as undergoing gruelling fitness training. They will also be educated on off-track aspects of the sport, such as career planning, media and sponsorship. The OJC season includes one official two-day test, a twoday coaching academy and six televised rounds of the championship.

The OJC has a massive learning curve for rookie riders and thanks to Mototrack Accessories, every rider will have use of a SpeedAngle GPS Lap Timer. For Steve Thibou at Mototrack Accessories, it’s an opportunity to help OJC riders be their best.

Future hopefuls can register their interest to receive further details regarding the 2023 Season. To register your interest in the program head to: www.asbk.com.au/about-asbk/oceania-junior-cup/

# FIRST SURNAME STATE MAKE MODEL SPONSOR

7 Sam DRANE NSW Yamaha YZF-R15 bLU cRU Yamaha / FIM Oceania / MA / Ricondi / Yamalube / Dunlop / Shark Helmets

13 Marcus HAMOD NSW Yamaha YZF-R15 bLU cRU Yamaha / FIM Oceania / MA / Ricondi / Yamalube / Dunlop / Shark Helmets

14 Harrison WATTS QLD Yamaha YZF-R15 bLU cRU Yamaha / FIM Oceania / MA / Ricondi / Yamalube / Dunlop / Shark Helmets 18 Elijah ANDREW NSW Yamaha YZF-R15 bLU cRU Yamaha / FIM Oceania / MA / Ricondi / Yamalube / Dunlop / Shark Helmets

23 Jed FYFFE NSW Yamaha YZF-R15 bLU cRU Yamaha / FIM Oceania / MA / Ricondi / Yamalube / Dunlop / Shark Helmets

27 Toby JAMES VIC Yamaha YZF-R15 bLU cRU Yamaha / FIM Oceania / MA / Ricondi / Yamalube / Dunlop / Shark Helmets

34 Teerin FLEMING VIC Yamaha YZF-R15 bLU cRU Yamaha / FIM Oceania / MA / Ricondi / Yamalube / Dunlop / Shark Helmets 36 Rikki HENRY SA Yamaha YZF-R15 bLU cRU Yamaha / FIM Oceania / MA / Ricondi / Yamalube / Dunlop / Shark Helmets 37 Alexander CODEY NSW Yamaha YZF-R15 bLU cRU Yamaha / FIM Oceania / MA / Ricondi / Yamalube / Dunlop / Shark Helmets 40 Hunter CORNEY QLD Yamaha YZF-R15 bLU cRU Yamaha / FIM Oceania / MA / Ricondi / Yamalube / Dunlop / Shark Helmets 41 Hudson THOMPSON NSW Yamaha YZF-R15 bLU cRU Yamaha / FIM Oceania / MA / Ricondi / Yamalube / Dunlop / Shark Helmets 43 John PELGRAVE QLD Yamaha YZF-R15 bLU cRU Yamaha / FIM Oceania / MA / Ricondi / Yamalube / Dunlop / Shark Helmets

46 William HUNT NSW Yamaha YZF-R15 bLU cRU Yamaha / FIM Oceania / MA / Ricondi / Yamalube / Dunlop / Shark Helmets 48 Valentino KNEZOVIC NSW Yamaha YZF-R15 bLU cRU Yamaha / FIM Oceania / MA / Ricondi / Yamalube / Dunlop / Shark Helmets 61 Ella MCCAUSLAND VIC Yamaha YZF-R15 bLU cRU Yamaha / FIM Oceania / MA / Ricondi / Yamalube / Dunlop / Shark Helmets 68 ryan LARKIN VIC Yamaha YZF-R15 bLU cRU Yamaha / FIM Oceania / MA / Ricondi / Yamalube / Dunlop / Shark Helmets

HORSELL F1 AND F2 AUSTRALIAN SIDECAR CHAMPIONSHIP

The Horsell Australian F1 and F2 Sidecar Championship will return to the ASBK schedule in 2022, promising to entertain fans with the deft skill of the riders and daring antics of the passengers.

In sidecar racing, the role of the passenger is just as important as that of the rider. Far from being a lazy onlooker, the passenger is required to lean, crouch and manoeuvre at a range of obscure angles, often within millimetres of the ground, to ensure their weight is optimally-placed so the bike remains balanced and can carry the maximum amount of corner speed.

The sidecar championship is divided into two classes. The F1 class is for outfits with engines up to 1,000cc capacity, while the F2 class is for bikes with smaller 600cc motors.

While the F1 bikes have the advantage on higher-speed tracks such as Phillip Island and Sydney Motorsport Park, the F2 bikes tend to nip at their heels on the tighter and more technical circuits such as Wakefield Park and Winton.

Superbike rider Corey Turner teamed up with his brother Danyon to win the 2019 F1 title ahead of West Australians Jeremy Joyce/Corey Blackman and Queenslanders Howard Ford/Lee Menzies. The F2 title went to Patrick Clancy/Steve Bonney from John Clancy/Warren Grubb and Mick Alton/ Christine Clancy.

With the sidecars unable to get on track last year due to COVID-19 they are salivating to hit the track in 2022 at round 2 of the ASBK Championship, Queensland Raceway, March 18-20.

2019 F1ChampionsCoreyandDanyonTurner

2019F2SidecarWinnersPatClancy&SteveBonney

ASBK SUPERBIKE MASTERS

By ASBK Trackside Commentator Mark Bracks

For the opening round of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championships presented by Motul, the popular “Superbike Masters“ returns for another hit out.

name etched their name on the trophy; Robbie Phillis, Malcolm “Wally” Campbell, Troy Corser, the late Kirk McCarthy, Anthony Gobert, Marty Craggill, former MA President, Peter Goddard, and ASBK commentator Steve Martin are just some that were crowned Australian Superbike Champions.

The Superbike Masters category is open to bikes from the bygone era and with a full field of 40 bikes spread over four classes.

The P5 ‘Unlimited Forgotten Era’ is for machines manufactured from 1973 to 1982. These are split into 2 classes; P5 Unlimited and P5F1 for aftermarket framed bikes like the Harris, Spondon and the GPspec Yamaha TZ750 two-strokes.

The “Superbike Masters” class is a throwback to when big-bore racing attracted thousands of fans track side to witness races with similar machinery to what they rode to the track.

The first Australian Superbike Championship was held in 1987. Since then, many riders have had their

The P6 ‘New Era’ is open to bikes from 1983 to 1990 and are made up of Formula 750 machines like the Honda RC30 and P6 Formula 1300 - for machines such as the Yamaha FZR1000 and the aforementioned CB1100R.

The full field of competitors are sure to provide very entertaining battles.

Get ready to discover the fourth Multistrada generation. Sportier and more touring, stronger for off-road use and easier in the urban environment. Lightweight and compact, with the new 170 HP V4 Granturismo engine for a sporty and exciting ride on mixed terrains. Ready for long journeys thanks to the navigation-system that can be viewed on the dashboard and the innovative rider assistance radar-system, it will offer you excellent riding comfort and a main service-interval after 60.000 km. And when the asphalt ends the fun will continue thanks to the high ground clearance, the electronic suspension, the surprisingly fluid power delivery and the perfect ergonomics for stand-up riding. After your adventures you will feel great ease and control in daily use thanks to the advanced electronic ride assist systems and the ability to adjust the seat down to 810 mm in height.

New Ducati Multistrada V4: ruling all roads has never been easier.

The MA RACESAFE Medical Team launches into a new Australian Superbike Championship season, all thanks to the support of our major sponsorsMotorcycling Australia, Motul Pirelli and Thor.

The highly trained & dedicated team of Medical Professionals includes Doctors, Surgeons, Intensive Care Paramedics, Emergency Nurses and Physiotherapists. The team will continue to fulfil the critical role as the Official Medical Team for the 2022 mi-bike Australian Superbike Championships, presented by Motul.

The 2021 RACESAFE season was full of thrills and spills which kept the RACESAFE Medical Team busy at every event. Emergency Medical & Sports Medicine treatments were provided to competitors, with the RACESAFE Medical Team again spearheading exciting new developments in its well established rider care program.

The expertise of the MA RACESAFE Medical Team is in hot demand, with this team now providing the Official Medical Service for the 2022 Australian Motocross Championships - MX Nationals, 2022 Australasian Supercross Series and Troy Bayliss Classic, just to name a few.

Thanks to a shared vision for rider safety with their sponsors, the MA RACESAFE Medical Team has continued to pioneer new levels of rider care across Australia. Without their dedicated sponsors the MA RACESAFE Medical Team would never make it to track to provide this crucial role.

“Motorcycling Australia is very pleased to come on board as the major sponsor of RACESAFE Australia for 2022 and beyond. The RACESAFE team will be key component of the 2022 mi-bike Australian Superbike Championships, presented by Motul, as well as at the MX Nationals, Australian Supercross Championship and other major MA national events throughout the year.

The level of medical service and support provided to these events and our motorcycling community as a whole is unrivalled, and that is why we had no hesitation partnering up together for the good of all of our stakeholders.

We are looking forward to working together with RACESAFE to support and enhance the range of services they can offer, which will no doubt benefit our MA membership in many ways.” Quoted Motorcycling Australia CEO Peter Boyle.

Exclusive to the Motorcycling Australia’s national motorcycle championships, is the MA RACESAFE Mobile Medical Unit. This world class facility will travel to each round of the ASBK series and will provide an onsite Emergency Medical centre, Physiotherapy facility, plus Mobile Command Unit for the MA RACESAFE Medical Team.

Equipped with the most modern advance life support medical and sports medicine equipment, this unit is a first for Australian Motorsport. The project rivals any unit worldwide.

MA RACESAFE Mobile Medical Unit includes:

• Philips Critical Care Monitors with ECG, SP02, NIBP, etC02

• Philips MRx Heart Defibrillator

• BOC Medical - Oxygen Systems

• BOC Medical - Suction Unit

• I.V systems

• Intubation / Airway Management Unit

• Sphygmomanometers

• Otoscope & Ophthalmoscope

• X-Ray Viewer

• Trauma Beds

• Ultrasound Unit

• Portable Interferential Unit

• Arm Pump Treatment Unit

• Simoco Two-way Radio Systems

MA RACESAFE Medical Team will include for the 2021 Australian Superbike Championships :

• Motul RACESAFE Medical

• Chase Cars - Fully equipped with

• Advanced Life Support Equipment

• MA RACESAFE Medical Team including, - Emergency Director

- Series Chief Medical Officer

- Intensive Care Paramedics - Emergency Nurses

- Sports Physiotherapists

- High Speed Chase Driver - Technical Support Officer - Orthopaedic Surgeons - Emergency Doctors www.racesafe.com.au

RACE FLAGS

YELLOW FLAG

Waved - danger ahead Riders must slow down and be prepared to stop. Overtaking is forbidden.

BLUE FLAG

Waved - flag indicate a rider that they are about to be overtaken.

RED FLAG

Waved - race or practice interrupted. Riders must return to the pits.

GREEN FLAG

The track is clear.

CHEQUERED FLAG

Waved - race or practice session is over.

BLACK FLAG

Riders whose number is shown with the flag must stop at the pits on the next lap.

YELLOW & RED STRIPED FLAG

Deterioration of adhesion to the track.

WHITE FLAG

Waved – slow moving intervention vehicle on track

Tom WILLIAMS

Simon MAAS

Gary BLEAZBY

Peter HALL

Peter BLACK

Phil REINEN

Denise STRONACH

Evon STEWART

Rob SCOTT

Ian REDDIN

Sam PHILLIPS

Jan HIGGINS

Scott LAING

Mark ARNOLD

Andrew MCCALLUM

Brendan FERRARI

Shelley THOMPSON

ASBK Race Director

ASBK Series Safety Officer

ASBK Deputy Clerk of Course

ASBK Deputy Clerk of Course

ASBK Clerk of Course

ASBK Assistant Clerk of Course

ASBK Race Secretary

ASBK Deputy Race Secretary

ASBK Chief Technical Officer

ASBK Deputy Chief Technical Officer

ASBK Chief Pit Lane Marshal

ASBK Series Tyre Scrutineer

ASBK Chief Timekeeper

ASBK Deputy Chief Timekeeper

ASBK Deputy Chief Timekeeper

ASBK Official Starter

ASBK Chief Communicator