ASBK 2025
Round One – Phillip Island
SW-Motech Superbike Race One
If you are at all interested in following ASBK in 2025, I thoroughly recommend digesting this piece I wrote on Friday, which is essentially a pre-season form guide.Â
Anthony West topped both practice sessions on Friday but Josh Waters pipped him for pole this morning.
Many Superbike teams are still ironing out all manner of gremlins on their machines and have rolled out here this weekend for the season opener with very little, and in some cases, zero testing.
A few have perhaps been keeping their powder a little dry ahead of the lights going out in this one, but some others are really struggling and have come into this round fairly poorly prepared. And, of course, in many cases, much of that is out of their control.
The track temperature was nudging past 30-degrees when Superbike riders rolled out of pit-lane just before midday on Saturday.
Josh Waters capitalised on pole position, but it was Cam Dunker who got an absolute flyer from the second row to settle in behind the defending champ through Southern Loop.
Anthony West and Mike Jones brushed knees as they braked for turn four the first time, and that pair had Glenn Allerton hot on their heels. Battling for sixth place early on were rookies Jonathan Nahlous and Jack Favelle.
Anthony West got the better of Dunker as they started lap two as the MotoGo Yamaha rider had got sucked into the slipstream and went a little deep into turn one.
Waters led by 1.3-seconds at the first split on lap two. Anthony West put his head down to try and chase down Waters. Mike Jones was not far behind in third, while Cam Dunker now had his hands full with Glenn Allerton. Broc Pearson was a few seconds further behind in fifth.
Westy had started to reel in Waters; the gap was down to half-a-second as they started lap four. Jones couldn’t match their pace and was now already a fairly lonely third, but had a fair buffer over the Dunker and Allerton battle unfolding behind him.
Allerton came off turn 12 with what looked like 20 km/h more than Dunker as they headed down the chute to start lap five. Once upright, though, Dunker got good drive and kept Allerton at bay until the entry to turn one. That MotoGo Yamaha was honking once upright and the trigger pulled proper. Or did Allerton roll off a little so as not to let the youngster tuck into his slipstream…
Up front, Waters had now built a handy buffer over Westy. The gap out to almost two-seconds as they started lap six. Jones was a further 1.5-seconds back in third place, but with four-seconds over Allerton and Dunker. Pearson was a further three-seconds back in sixth place and was busy trying to keep John Lytras at bay. Max Stauffer eighth at this just past halfway juncture, Tom Edwards ninth and Cru Halliday tenth. Nahlous had slipped back to 12th and Favelle had slipped to 14th.
Waters was gone.
Westy was a clear second place and looked to have enough up his sleeve to prevent Jones from closing in. The real battle on track was unfolding between Allerton and Dunker. One of the oldest versus one of the youngest…
Dunker got past Allerton on the entry to turn 11 late on lap seven and kept that advantage down the chute. Allerton now looked content to follow the youngster around and wait for an opportunity to present itself, looking after his tyres…
Dunker then went down at Siberia…. The youngster sliding out of contention…
Broc Pearson had been steadily closing on Dunker and Allerton, and with two laps to go, he was looming large behind Allerton after Dunker’s demise. Ten-seconds further up the road ahead of them, Jones was reeling in West to line up for a late attack on second place… Waters was now five-seconds ahead of them.
Pearson was only a couple of bike lengths behind Allerton at the last lap board. The DesmoSport Ducati man thought about a lunge at turn four on the final lap but pulled out of it.
Jones all over West through Hayshed, slides underneath him at MG, but Westy had the better line for the exit to lead around turn 11… Jones right on his pipe for the drag to the line…. Westy holds on by a nose to take that second place.
Waters cruised across the line after doing it easy. That said, they were all sliding around quite a bit out there, and it is never ‘easy’ in the normal sense of the word.
Allerton managed to keep Pearson at bay to take fourth place. That pair took the chequered flag 14-seconds behind the winner.
Max Stauffer was a further four-seconds back in sixth place, but only by a nose over Lytras. The latter of that pair is part of one of the least well-funded family-based teams on the grid so that is a huge feather in their cap.
1. Josh Waters
2. Anthony West +4.404
3. Mike Jones +4.421
Cru Halliday, the first Stop & Seal runner home in eighth place ahead of Tom Edwards. They crossed the stripe 23-seconds behind the winner at the end of that 11-lap contest. That is far from where they are capable of finishing.
Jonathan Nahlous rounded out the top ten ahead of Tom Toparis. A great first national-level Superbike race for the 2024 Australian Supersport Champion.
Some of the teams will be working much harder than others this afternoon and through the evening ahead of their second bout, which is slated for 0945 on Sunday morning. The third and final contest to decide the round winner will occur at 1340 on Sunday afternoon. Conditions are expected to be mainly fine but windy on Sunday.
The consensus amongst most WorldSBK and ASBK riders this weekend is that the circuit this year is offering up less grip compared to last year. It is also clear that there are now more bumps and ripples pockmarking the track surface.
At this stage, it looks like Josh Waters will have to make some mistakes or suffer some mechanical gremlins for anyone to challenge him. I am sure he has more speed up his sleeve, should he need to show it. Five-time Australian Superbike champion in the making…? There is a lot of racing still to go yet, at quite a few different circuits, but I would say that is a fair bet…
SW-Motech Superbike Race One Results
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | J Waters | Duc | 17m00.626 |
| 2 | A West | Yam | +4.404 |
| 3 | M Jones | Yam | +4.421 |
| 4 | G Allerton | Duc | +13.809 |
| 5 | B Pearson | Duc | +14.013 |
| 6 | M Stauffer | Yam | +18.591 |
| 7 | J Lytras | Yam | +18.726 |
| 8 | C Halliday | Yam | +22.755 |
| 9 | T Edwards | Yam | +22.806 |
| 10 | J Nahlous | Yam | +24.191 |
| 11 | T Toparis | Yam | +27.010 |
| 12 | R Yanko | Yam | +29.751 |
| 13 | J Favelle | Yam | +34.022 |
| 14 | M Walters | Apr | +39.678 |
| 15 | M Aizuddin | BMW | +48.113 |
| 16 | A Sissis | Yam | +49.304 |
| 17 | C Holding | Yam | +56.182 |
| 18 | P Linkenbagh | Yam | +1m01.372 |
| 19 | A Senior | Yam | +1m09.989 |
| 20 | K Higuchi | Suz | +1m10.001 |
| 21 | M Kemp | Yam | +1m24.885 |
| 22 | M Carr | Hon | 1 Lap |
| DNF | C Dunker | Yam | 2 Laps |
| DNF | N Mahon | Yam | 2 Laps |
| DNF | J Soderland | Yam | 9 Laps |
2025 Australian Superbike Championship Calendar
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| 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 |
