ASBK 2025
Round One – Phillip Island
Friday AM – Free Practice One
SW-Motech Superbike
The opening round of the 2025 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) got underway on Friday morning, minus a few heavy hitters that had initially been on the entry list for Phillip Island.
Troy Herfoss was set to line up on a Penrite-backed DesmoSport Ducati, but that deal fell apart at the final hurdle.
Another Ducati here in the paddock, but not set to turn a wheel this weekend, is a V4 R put together by 2024 ASBK Championship-winning team McMartin Racing for Harrison Voight. The teenager has been called up to the D34G World Supersport squad to replace regular incumbent Glenn Van Straalen who injured himself during testing earlier this week.
There are plenty in the paddock quite relieved that there will be two less very competitive Ducatis on the grid weekend…
Some interesting last-minute changes to ASBK regulations have been promulgated in the past few weeks. First was the announcement that a new single-bike rule, of sorts, was being put in place for the 2025 championship. This was announced on January 28.
While that change affects everyone, another rule change three days later had many Yamaha runners in a mad rush to source, fit and then tune their YZF-R1M machinery for new performance-enhancing intake funnels that are now permitted in ASBK. This change was made by ASBK in response to a request for ‘Performance Balancing’ from Yamaha Motor Australia. We understand that some competitors are considering lodging an appeal against that decision, alleging that there is a lack of evidence, based on race results, to suggest Yamaha is at any disadvantage as the rules stood before.
The intake funnels are variable in their operation, moving up or down at a predetermined rpm to help boost top-end performance. Ideally, these are matched to the full GYTR race kit, including all other GYTR components such as camshafts, valve springs, etc. These extra items are not allowed in ASBK, so it will be interesting to see how the GYTR funnels affect performance when the rubber hits the road. Yamaha must expect gains to be made. Otherwise, they would not have requested the change.
There has been a little seat shuffling in the off-season amongst the Yamaha runners, with Max Stauffer earning a promotion to the Yamaha Racing Team, while Cru Halliday has left YRT for the Stop & Seal squad. Max has been dealing with hand-wrist injuries he sustained while participating in the FIM Intercontinental Games late last year. Despite his elevation to the factory squad, the 21-year-old probably comes into this season less prepared than he has been in previous years.
Stop & Seal took their first foray into the Superbike category last year with Arthur Sissis, and the South Australian continues with the team this year as it expands its Superbike effort. Sissis was really starting to build up a head of steam over the last few rounds of 2024 and is expected to feature strongly in 2025.
Tom Toparis steps up to the Superbike ranks this season to make quite a triumvirate for the Robbie Bolger-backed outfit. Hopefully, Toparis can remain injury-free, and if things go their way, there is a possibility that at some point this season, we could see a Stop & Seal Superbike podium lock-out.
An interesting point of note is that all three Stop & Seal Superbikes are running the MoTeC ECU, while the remainder of the Yamaha throng in ASBK run the YEC kit. Halliday is particularly strong at Phillip Island, and if he can get comfortable enough on the new bike, the Sydneysider is more than capable of being a podium challenger this weekend. There is no doubt he will be fired up to try and finish as top Yamaha ahead of the YRT riders.
Tom Edwards has returned from Europe to take up a seat with the new MotoSchool Yamaha Team. Tom will be the only Dunlop runner in the Superbike field. It is early days for the new team, but if given a competitive package, we know that Tom has the talent to make it shine. Fingers crossed.
Young hotshot Cam Dunker is racing under the MotoGo umbrella this year. Crew Chief Glen Richards has made the transition with him, which provides some stability. It is a big change for Cam to transition away from the Jamie Stauffer and Heath Griffin-backed privateer Penrite Yamaha set-up, where the teenager scored some great results in his debut year. Dunker has also moved away from their Kurri Kurri home base down to Melbourne of late, living for the most part with manager Wayne Maxwell, as the MotoGo Yamaha squad is based in Victoria out of Patrick Li’s motorcycle dealership, and it just seems to make sense for the youngster right now. Dunker is already on the radar of some overseas teams, and a good season will likely set him up nicely for a European adventure in 2026.
Jonathan Nahlous is the second Supersport Champion in as many years to take the big step into Superbike at quite a young age. Early indications are that the 18-year-old is ready for the challenge. JJ raced with the likes of Josh Brookes and Harry Voight while gaining plenty of experience in the ST George MCC Summer Nights Series. His family-backed privateer team managed to give him a package that was consistent enough for him to take out the ST George series; JJ was rarely off the podium and regularly finished in front of some pretty handy opposition.
Another youngster joining the Superbike ranks this season that will be interesting to watch is Jack Favelle. The teenager showed some good pace in the ST George Series, finishing second overall to good mate Nahlous.
20-year-old John Lytras now has quite a few Superbike starts under his belt in what is another family-fun privateer affair, albeit with some backing from Caboolture Yamaha. The young Queenslander has yet to show his true potential, and fingers crossed that he and his backers can take a step forward in 2025.
At the other end of the age scale, Anthony West really started to find some pace late last season on the Addicted To Track Yamaha. If that progress has continued in the off-season, the veteran will likely be capable of podium finishes this year and maybe even a win. At 43, Westy still has some years to go before he can challenge Troy Bayliss for the gong as oldest ever Australian Superbike race winner, but who knows when he will stop!
We have already detailed a pretty handy line-up of Yamaha riders there without even getting around to three-time champ Mike Jones. Truth be told, there is not much to say there; Mike has been there and done it, has a huge amount of experience under his belt and is always in contention for podium finishes at every track. Even if Phillip Island is perhaps one that, at times, he has struggled for podium pace at more than others on the calendar. Mike comes into this season already well-settled, with a trusted crew behind him and the full backing of YRT. That said, he also comes in with the most pressure on his shoulders. Yamaha helps out more than half of the Superbike grid to varying degrees, but Mike is the rider really expected to deliver the results that add up to a championship victory.
That is the more fancied of the Yamaha runners covered. Now, let’s move on to what is realistically the only brand that can prevent the tuning fork boys from bringing home the bacon, which is, of course, Ducati. Even without Herfoss and Voight in the Italian armada this weekend, there are three Ducati riders on the grid capable of victory. And two of those riders have seven Australian Superbike Championship titles between them.
Defending champ Josh Waters broke his collarbone here a few weeks ago, but Phillip Island is his territory. The 38-year-old is still confident, and we know that the combination of Waters and the McMartin Ducati is the benchmark around Phillip Island. The biggest threat to him this weekend would have likely come from his young sometime team-mate Harry Voight, but with the teenager a last-minute call-up for World Supersport duty, the challenge from within has evaporated. Broken collarbone or not, and with almost zero pre-season preparation, it is still fair to say that Waters is the favourite heading into this weekend.
Glenn Allerton fronts on a Ducati this year as the new Superbike Advocates Racing Team gets blooded in national-level competition for the first time. They decided to start on MoTeC but have experienced numerous complications in trying to get on top of it. Glenn suggested that they might switch to Magneti Marelli from round two. Just getting hold of the ECU itself is a mission, but luckily, some contacts in the WorldSBK paddock have seen the Ducati WorldSBK Team bring them a Marelli ECU over in their hand luggage. Time will tell which way they end up going as the season progresses and the project evolves.
Broc Pearson and DesmoSport Ducati want nothing more than to put one over their primary Ducati rivals, but there have been some big changes afoot for the Queensland-based team in the off-season. In recent seasons, the squad have run the Marelli electronics, but for 2025, they have transitioned to MoTeC, and that is a really big change. The MoTeC system is very powerful but also really quite demanding from a technical perspective, and this does have the potential to complicate their race weekends if they don’t have their set-up pretty much dialled from the off at each circuit we visit.
That’s the more fancied riders on the grid covered, but there are a few others capable of springing a surprise if things go their way. Matt Walters is back on the Aprilia RSV4. BMW, Honda and Suzuki are all represented by single riders. Japanese visitor Kota Higuchi is on a GSX-R1000. Mitchell Carr makes a return to the grid on a Honda after being away from the national scene for quite some time, and it will be interesting to see what he can bring to the table in 2025.
The opening Superbike practice session of season 2025 got underway at 0945 on Friday morning. The ambient temperature was just starting to nudge 20 degrees, and the track temperature was about the same. While earlier in the morning, there had been negligible wind, a breeze had already started to blow across the track when practice got underway.
Anthony West was hot to trot, setting the early pace and improving to 1m32.167 on his sixth lap of the morning before returning to the pits. Halfway through the session only Josh Waters had gone quicker, a 1m31.885 to the defending champ on his fifth lap on the bike. At this halfway juncture of the 30-minute session Mike Jones was third, Jonathan Nahlous fourth, Cam Dunker fifth and Max Stauffer sixth.
Glenn Allerton has had a tough start on the Superbike Advocates Ducati in pre-season but moved up to fourth on the time-sheets as the second half of the session got underway. Hopefully and early indication that they might finally have a relatively smooth weekend ahead of them for the first time.
Once back out on track Westy was straight back down to business. A 1m31.608 to knock Waters out of top spot. The Veteran kept his head down to go quicker again, improving to a 1m31.436 on his next lap. Sensational stuff for Westy and his Addicted To Track outfit.
Waters improved to a 1m31.451 with five-minutes to run, but that was not enough to displace Westy from P1. At this point Westy and Waters had 1.5-seconds on the field, the best of the rest Mike Jones on 1m33.051.
Westy and Waters the went to toe for top spot… Waters up across the first sector, sensational second sector from Westy put him back on top, he stayed on pace through the third sector while Waters lap went away…. Westy improves slightly to 1m31.404, but again kept his head down.. Quicker at the first split, but this time lost some ground through sectors two and three and failed to improve. But the chequered flag was out and Westy was still on top. A great shot in the arm for Mark McGregor’s Addicted to Track Team to start out on such a strong footing right from the off. The team have not yet had the chance to fit the new intake funnels that they are now permitted to run.
Mike Jones third quickest ahead of Glenn Allerton while Tommy Edwards made a great start with the new Motoschool outfit to start the weekend in P5 ahead of Max Stauffer, Broc Pearson, Cam Dunker and John Lytras while Jonathan Nahlous rounded out the top ten.
Superbike competitors are on track once again at 1410 for their second and final 30-minute practice session. They take to the track again on Saturday morning at the early hour of 0805! There was a heavy dew on the track at that time this morning but a warmer night is forecast for tonight, fingers crossed. The first 11-lap Superbike race of the weekend will commence at midday on Saturday.
Superbike FP1 Times
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
| 1 | A West | Yam | 1m31.404 | 298 |
| 2 | J Waters | Duc | +0.047 | 309 |
| 3 | M Jones | Yam | +1.230 | 301 |
| 4 | G Allerton | Duc | +1.901 | 306 |
| 5 | T Edwards | Yam | +2.231 | 298 |
| 6 | M Stauffer | Yam | +2.254 | 303 |
| 7 | B Pearson | Duc | +2.272 | 301 |
| 8 | C Dunker | Yam | +2.305 | 293 |
| 9 | J Lytras | Yam | +2.385 | 289 |
| 10 | J Nahlous | Yam | +2.515 | 295 |
| 11 | J Favelle | Yam | +2.977 | 293 |
| 12 | M Walters | Apr | +3.284 | 296 |
| 13 | A Sissis | Yam | +3.333 | 297 |
| 14 | C Halliday | Yam | +3.417 | 301 |
| 15 | T Toparis | Yam | +4.787 | 293 |
| 16 | J Soderland | Yam | +5.455 | 290 |
| 17 | R Yanko | Yam | +5.465 | 290 |
| 18 | M Aizuddin | BMW | +5.618 | 283 |
| 19 | A Senior | Yam | +5.751 | 283 |
| 20 | N Mahon | Yam | +5.827 | 283 |
| 21 | C Holding | Yam | +6.095 | 293 |
| 22 | K Higuchi | Suz | +6.264 | 290 |
| 23 | P Linkenbagh | Yam | +6.917 | 282 |
| 24 | M Kemp | Yam | +9.734 | 284 |
| 25 | M Carr | Hon | +14.926 | 244 |
Kawasaki Supersport FP1
Pit lane exited for Supersport competitors at 0915 on Friday morning in what was shaping up to be a cracking day at Phillip Island.
Archie McDonald took a little while to wind up this morning but once he did he shot to the top of the time-sheets with a 1m35.303.
Jack Mahaffy went oh so close to knocking Archie off the top with his final lap, but lost a little time in the third sector, which saw him have to settle for second by only two-hundredths of a second.
Tom Bramich had hoped to ride a Ducati this season, but as the announcement that a move to Next Generation Supersport will be phased in from round three only came earlier this week, he had to make other arrangements. He had tested with BCperformance Kawasaki and was announced as their rider, but in the end, the Victorian chose to go back to what he knew with a family-backed effort on the YZF-R6 that he had campaigned previously. Third quickest for Bramich this morning.
A very encouraging start for Olly Simpson after the South Australian was a late signing for the BCperformance Kawasaki squad. A 1m35.780 good enough for fourth.
Jake Farnsworth had a crash at turn eight with just under eight-minutes remaining in the session. That meant he was unable to improve on his 1m36.746 and had to settle for sixth.
Supersport competitors will be back on track at 1340 this afternoon for a 20-minute qualifying session ahead of their opening ten-lap race of the weekend on Saturday morning.
Supersport FP1 Times
| Pos | Rider | Bike | TIme/Gap | Speed |
| 1 | A Mcdonald | Yam | 1m35.303 | 266 |
| 2 | J Mahaffy | Yam | +0.019 | 265 |
| 3 | T Bramich | Yam | +0.304 | 265 |
| 4 | O Simpson | Kaw | +0.477 | 262 |
| 5 | D Van Rosmalen | Yam | +1.370 | 266 |
| 6 | J Farnsworth | Yam | +1.443 | 261 |
| 7 | J Torres Cabrera | Yam | +1.767 | 259 |
| 8 | C Swain | Yam | +1.779 | 262 |
| 9 | H Nelson | Kaw | +2.046 | 262 |
| 10 | M Hamod | Hon | +2.302 | 263 |
| 11 | G Nelson | Yam | +2.514 | 259 |
| 12 | H Ford | Yam | +3.100 | 257 |
| 13 | C Middleton | Yam | +3.215 | 265 |
| 14 | W Nassif | Yam | +3.318 | 260 |
| 15 | J Newman | Yam | +3.781 | 257 |
| 16 | S Pezzetta | Yam | +4.142 | 255 |
| 17 | L Russo | Yam | +4.869 | 260 |
| 18 | R Gilbert | Yam | +4.960 | 258 |
| 19 | S Boldrini | Yam | +5.856 | 245 |
| 20 | B Quinlan | Yam | +7.515 | 252 |
| 21 | L Waters | Yam | +8.043 | 256 |
| 22 | C Morrison | Yam | +8.214 | 254 |
| 23 | S Mikami | Yam | +9.368 | 257 |
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 will head out of pit-lane again at 1310 this afternoon for a qualifying session ahead of their eight-lap race one at 1705 this evening.
Supersport 300 FP1 Times
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
| 1 | T Morrison | Kaw | 1m48.987 | 196 |
| 2 | J Simpson | Yam | +0.774 | 194 |
| 3 | J Russo | Yam | +0.975 | 196 |
| 4 | O Short | Kaw | +1.144 | 190 |
| 5 | T Nicolson | Kaw | +1.160 | 198 |
| 6 | S Nicholson | Kaw | +1.467 | 196 |
| 7 | H Thompson | Yam | +1.608 | 190 |
| 8 | S Drane | Yam | +1.631 | 195 |
| 9 | R Nauta | Kaw | +1.646 | 200 |
| 10 | O Lewis | Yam | +1.723 | 183 |
| 11 | N Frost | Yam | +1.726 | 199 |
| 12 | M Carrick | Kaw | +1.748 | 201 |
| 13 | S Dellow | Yam | +1.997 | 188 |
| 14 | W Hunt | Yam | +2.328 | 188 |
| 15 | R Larkin | Yam | +2.445 | 192 |
| 16 | T James | Yam | +2.471 | 194 |
| 17 | V Knezovic | Yam | +2.676 | 189 |
| 18 | J Senior | Yam | +2.695 | 195 |
| 19 | M Simpson | Yam | +2.812 | 181 |
| 20 | L Knight | Yam | +3.107 | 195 |
| 21 | D Coward | Kaw | +3.139 | 194 |
| 22 | J Pelgrave | Yam | +3.436 | 191 |
| 23 | F Jacobs | Yam | +3.483 | 187 |
| 24 | R Mcadam | Yam | +3.620 | 190 |
| 25 | A Codey | Yam | +3.741 | 188 |
| 26 | N Lazos | Yam | +4.422 | 184 |
| 27 | T King | Kaw | +5.064 | 194 |
| 28 | A Wu | Yam | +5.436 | 188 |
| 29 | P O’brien | Yam | +5.463 | 185 |
| 30 | M Ritter | Yam | +5.514 | 187 |
| 31 | E Dellow | Yam | +5.746 | 186 |
| 32 | T Zhao | Yam | +5.983 | 183 |
| 33 | J Underwood | Yam | +6.430 | 188 |
| 34 | Z Beckinsale | Yam | +6.591 | 182 |
| 35 | M Cartwright | Yam | +7.240 | 188 |
| 36 | H Air | Yam | +7.290 | 186 |
| 37 | Z Russo | Yam | +7.943 | 182 |
| 38 | C Bunworth | Kaw | 9.234 | 176 |
| 39 | E Andrew | Yam | 9.376 | 186 |
| 40 | S Mcintosh | Yam | 16.102 | 169 |
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 |
