Recapping all the ASBK Supersport 300 action from P.I. season opener

ASBK 2025

Round One – Phillip Island
Australian Supersport 300

Supersport 300 FP1

Supersport 300 competitors were the first to hit the track on Friday morning at Phillip Island at 0845, and 41 of them were on track!

Tara Morrison started the season off on the right note by topping practice with a 1m48.987. That time put the South Australian youngster almost eight-tenths clear of fellow ‘crow eater’ Jordy Simpson in second.

Supersport 300 riders headed out of pit-lane again at 1310 on Friday afternoon for a qualifying session ahead of their eight-lap race one at 1705 on Friday evening.

Race & Road Supersport 300 FP1 Times

Supersport 300 Qualifying

Tara Morrison wasn’t able to reproduce the stunning 1m48.987 she produced in morning practice when it came to the 20-minute qualifying session early on Friday afternoon.

Taking pole was Ryan Larkin with a 1m49.137, ahead of Tara on 1m49.203, while young Hudson Thompson rounded out the tight front row on 1m49.236.

Jordy Simpson completed the second row while lining up alongside him would be Oliver Short and Tom Nicolson.

Race & Road Supersport 300 Qualifying Times

Australian Supersport 300 Race One

Ryan Larkin got away well from pole but was soon overhauled by a gaggle of riders as the madness that is Supersport 300 got underway at Phillip Island at 1705 on Friday afternoon.

Officials soon signalled that the start was under investigation…(Mitchel Carrick was later judged to have jumped the start and copped a penalty)…

However, on track, Scott Nicholson managed to build a few bike-lengths lead around the back of the circuit, only for the field to concertina back together down the chute.

Nicholson continued to hold sway at the front, but after three laps less than a second covered the top ten. Mitch Simpson was in the midst of that throng and set a new fastest lap of the race on the third circuit, a 1m49.709.

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Tara Morrison then started her march forward… Tara moved up to second place as the eight-lap race reached the halfway mark, then took the lead as they reached two-thirds race distance. She looked to have timed her break to perfection. There is obviously a big brain behind that big smile!

With two laps to run Tara had a full-second lead over Scott Nicholson… That was trimmed to six-tenths around the back of the circuit and by the last lap flag Nicholson and Morrison were side by side across the line…

Nicholson edged ahead as a huge gaggle of riders only half-a-second further behind tried to chase them down across the final lap.

Nicholson led Morrison by just over a tenth at Hayshed as Jordy Simpson joined their party…

Three-wide onto the straight but it was Morrison with her nose in front at the flag to take the victory as Jordy Simpson stole Scott Nicholson’s thunder for second place on the line.

Oliver Short fourth ahead of Jake Senior and Hudson Thompson.

Tom Nicolson was seventh with a couple of bike lengths over Sam Drane and Mitch Simpson, while Jake Paige rounded out the top ten.

Race & Road Supersport 300 Race One Results

Supersport 300 Race Two

The opening Supersport 300 bout of the weekend had been held on Friday evening, but it was an early start for competitors on Saturday, with race two getting underway at 0850.

Ryan Larkin was on pole ahead of Tara Morrison while young Hudson Thompson rounded out the front row. Tara had taken first blood on Friday evening with her maiden race win and was eager to back it up against the boys.

Jordy Simpson was the early race leader of the freight train ahead of Scott Nicholson, Ryan Larkin and Hudson Thompson. Also in that throng was Tara Morrison, Jake Senior and Oliver Short.

Nicholson led them across the stripe to start lap two as Simpson moved into second and Morrison up to third. Morrison then took the lead out of Southern Loop as Hudson Thompson snuck in behind her.  Then Thompson took his turn up front, Jordy Simpson back up to second, Morrison third… Morrison was back in front of Simpson as they wound up around turns 11 and 12… Morrison retained her advantage at the stripe and held that around Southern Loop as Hudson Thompson moved back up to second and Short into third ahead of Nicholson.

Nicholson moved to the front of the field again halfway through that second lap, but at the stripe, it was again Morrison with her nose in front, the difference a slender six-thousandths as they crossed the line neck and neck, just that Tara had a longer neck…

The order then shuffled through the opening turns of lap four. Simpson to the front, Thompson up to second, Nicholson back to third, Knezovic up to fourth, Short fifth, Tom Nicholson seventh and Morrison right back to eighth… Four-tenths covered that octuplet.

Half-race distance and it was Nicholson back in front. Nicholson swapped places with Thompson a couple of times throughout that fifth lap but when they crossed the stripe it was again Tara Morrison in front, albeit briefly, as Tyler King came from nowhere, forging forward to take his turn to lead after setting a new fastest lap of the race. King was not there for long though, shuffled back down to eighth in no time, and Morrison back to seventh, as Scott Nicholson led Jordy Simpson and Hudson Thompson.

Scott Nicholson led at the last lap board and had the biggest lead of the race, half-a-second.. That all evaporated at turn one though…  Hudson Thompson closing back onto his tail with Jordy Simpson, Valentino Knezovic and Oliver Short coming along for the ride. Coud King, Morrison, Simpson, Drane, Larkin and Nuata join that freight train for this final lap….

Just when it looked as though Nicholson would hold on for the win he was pipped at the line by both Jordy Simpson and Hudson Thompson, who relegated him to third. Three-hundredths of a second covering the podium getters.

Valentino Knezovic was fourth a couple of bike lengths clear of Oliver Short and Tara Morrison.

Tyler King seventh ahead of Sam Drane and Mitch Simpson, while Ryan Larkin rounded out the top ten ahead of Jake Paige and Riley Nuata. A second covered the top seven.

Race & Road Supersport 300 Race Two Results

Supersport 300 Race Three

It was another early start for the final Supersport 300 bout of the Phillip Island season opener. It had been a very warm night with the temperature on the Africa Twin registering 23-degrees ambient as I rode into the circuit at 0700 on Sunday morning.

While it had been a hot and uncomfortable night, there had also been a short localised storm in the middle of the night, which had resulted in some rain. The track was dry when competitors took to the circuit, but conditions were not ideal when riders negotiated their warm-up lap just before 0910 on Sunday morning.

Jordy Simpson held the early advantage on the opening lap from Ryan Larkin, Sam Drane, Hudson Thompson and Tara Morrison.  Thompson moved up to second place around the back of the circuit, pushing Drane back to third, not for long though, as only a few turns later, it was 14-year-old Sam Drane leading the conga line of competitors.

Race one winner Tara Morrison forged her way to the front early on lap two, then Valentino Knezovic took his turn to lead the 300 Supersport juggernaut.  Morrison took the lead again on lap three as Hudson Thompson moved up to second, only to then be shuffled down to eighth as the make up of the leading pack was shook up yet again.

Scott Nicholson took his turn up front as they started lap four, Jordy Simpson up to second, Valentino Knezovic third, Tara Morrison fourth, Mitch Simpson fifth and Jake Paige sixth as they approached the halfway mark of the eight-lap contest.

Then it was Hudson Thompson back through to the lead momentarily, only to be shuffled back to fourth at the next corner as Nicholson took the lead once again. Tara Morrison had been pushed all the way back to 12th by the halfway mark but less than two-seconds covered the top dozen riders.

Tyler King moved into the lead briefly before then going down at turn four. That left 15-year-old Riley Nauta up front by a nose over Jake Senior, Valentino Knezovic, Jordy Simpson, Hudson Thompson and Sam Drane.

Scott Nicholson seventh with two laps to run, Tara Morrison ninth.

Sam Drane led Scott Nicholson and Jake Senior at the last-lap board. Jordy Simpson moved up to second before Siberia but less than a second covered the top ten and it was going to come down to track position and smarts for the run around MG and the final left-handers…

Sam Drane had his nose in front when it mattered, the youngster taking the victory by a tenth over Scott Nicholson while Hudson Thompson rounded out the podium.  However, there were numerous incidents under investigation, and we would not know the official results for some time.

As the riders took the chequered flag, Oliver Short was laying injured on the left side of the main straight at the finish line. It was a peculiar and quite frightening sight.

Oliver Short

“Another rider tagged my bars which got me all out of shape and sent me into the wall. noones fault just one of those unlucky incidents. I came off very lucky all considering, looks like a broken leg and torn bicep but scans today will confirm.”

Tara Morrison – Race One Winner

“The cool down lap after winning my first ASBK race was the best 2 minutes of my life. Securing a win after all of the injuries from last year and hard work I’ve put in this year so far before the round was the most relieving feeling. I’m not finished yet, there’s still a full season ahead, and I have my eyes on the championship. More incredible results to come!”

Jordan Simpson – Race Two Winner

“The weekend was awesome it felt good to get my first race win and also getting the round win in the same weekend is good, there’s still a lot I can improve on and I know what I gotta do to be faster and make my race craft a lot better, which I can work on in the next couple weeks leading up to round 2, I’m keen to get round some more tighter tracks where I feel I’m better and the tow isn’t as important.”

Scott Nicholson – Podium in all three races

“We’ve had a great start to the 2025 season. The team has put together an amazing package to place us on the podium in every race against such a talented field. It will be tough as we step away from home for the next round in Sydney, but we’re keen for the challenge.”

Hudson Thompson – Two podiums and fourth on points

“First round of ASBK in the SSP300. Was a late entry as we only got a bike organised 3 weeks ago with help from some great friends and sponsors. Went into the round with only 2 rides on the bike under my belt but was feeling comfortable on it. Goals for the round were to get some solid points and gain some experience. To come away with 2 podiums and sitting 4th in the championship I’m very happy with. The racing was crazy, hectic but a lot of fun. I know I have a lot to work on but looking forward to it and will be looking to continue strong going into round 2 at SMSP in a few weeks.”

Race & Road Supersport 300 Race Three Results

Race & Road Supersport 300 Championship Points

2025 Australian Superbike Championship Calendar

Round	Location	Date
1	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC	Feb 21-23
2	Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW	Mar 28-29
3	Queensland Raceway, QLD	May 2-4
4	Morgan Park Raceway, QLD	Jun 13-15
5	Queensland Raceway, QLD (Superbike Only)	Aug 8-10
6	Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC	Sept 6-7
7	One Raceway, NSW	Oct 3-5
8	The Bend, SA	Nov 7-9