While Josh Waters and McMartin Racing dominated the opening round of the season, there were plenty of intriguing storylines to come out of Phillip Island as ASBK looks ahead to a history-making round two at Sydney Motorsport Park. News: ASBK Media…
The playing field is reset ahead this round, very few prior laps have been completed by our championship protagonists outside of the Official ASBK pre-season test and Summer running. With a compressed two-day round format, riders and teams will need to dial in their motorcycle as quickly as possible in the short and sharp practice sessions ahead of qualifying Friday night.
For the championship, it is the first time since 2019 an official race event will be held at the 3.93KM circuit where it hosted the then-season finale in a thrilling three-way fight between Wayne Maxwell, Troy Herfoss and eventual champion, Mike Jones, who was then aboard a DesmoSport Ducati. In what is regarded as one of the best all-round circuits in Australia, the circuit is a tale of two halves, with the fast and open first and third sectors catering to machines like the Ducati, whereas the much tighter and intricate sector two favours the more nimble Yamaha and Honda, setting up an exciting prospect for the racing ahead.
Alpinestars Superbike
Hit the reset button. The unbeatable combination of Josh Waters aboard a McMartin Racing Ducati Panigale V4R at Phillip Island are behind us. Sydney Motorsport Park represents a much bigger challenge for the current championship leaders with a significant portion of the circuit favouring more agile bikes. However, the big, booming Ducati will be hard to beat down the Brabham Straight and into turn one, keep an eye out for Waters to be lining them up in the first sector and then defending through the rest of the lap.
If the Official ASBK Test is anything to go by, it will be close up front. Cru Halliday, Mike Jones, Troy Herfoss and newly-confirmed full-season entrant Glenn Allerton are the expected protagonists to the championship leader. The Yamaha, Honda and BMW all share a fundamental difference with the Ducati and it will be most visible in the tight and twisty middle sector. Rewinding back to 2019, Herfoss and the previous model Fireblade were able to pull off moves that a then Mike Jones piloted Ducati could not respond to – look for our Superbike challengers to be applying pressure in this key sector of the lap where agility, tyre management and front-end confidence matter most.
Announced just last week, Glenn Allerton has secured and confirmed his 2023 future in a new joint venture with Trevor Groeneveld as GT Racing begins operations this weekend. “I’m extremely excited and also grateful for the new opportunity with GT Racing Team, with the help of Trevor (Groeneveld) and his team we have been able to put together a lot of pieces from my old team and some exciting new prospects going forward,” said Allerton.
Newly-minted team owner, Trevor Groeneveld is no stranger to the superbike scene, “I’ve been around superbikes now for a few years doing track days and some club racing. It’s a sport I really enjoy. I’ve also been helping Glenn now for the past few years as a personal sponsor and as part of the former team. When the opportunity came along to become a team owner, it was hard to say no. Looking ahead, the one part of the puzzle I have no concerns with is Glenn’s ability to fight for the top spot every time he pulls the helmet on. The challenge for this team is to ensure we give him the right support and equipment to do the job and to that, we are all 100 percent committed.”
We are however without two stalwarts of the class, as both Mark Chiodo and Michael Edwards will miss this round of the championship due to injury. For Chiodo, he must be questioning his luck as during a test at The Bend Motorsport Park, he suffered a mechanical failure with his Fireblade at over 260km/h into the sharp turn one. Breaking his collarbone in the crash, there is no set return date for the Honda rider as he looks to take his recovery slowly and methodically to ensure he is at full fitness when he does next swing his leg over the bike.
For Michael Edwards, it’s a case of an injured knee. The veteran superbike rider kept his cards close to his chest via an announcement on social media, with his intent to return to the paddock for his home round at Queensland Raceway next time out. We wish both Mark and Michael the best in their recoveries and look forward to welcoming them back to the championship in full health when the time comes.
Michelin Supersport
Championship leader Ty Lynch was exceptional at Phillip Island. The determined Lynch pulled off gritty ride after gritty ride in classic Phillip Island conditions when his rivals all parted company with their machines. Luck may have played a role in round one for our Supersport Championship Leader, but he and his team left The Island knowing they need to unlock more speed from their YZF-R6 if they are to keep up this championship challenge.
Reigning champion John Lytras had an opening weekend to forget, aside from one podium in treacherous conditions, the gold #1 was tough to spot, consistently mid-pack. Lytras and Lynch are in a similar position heading into round two, as both of them acknowledge they openly struggled for pace and confidence at Phillip Island. However, it’s a long year, with many unknowns in front of them. This weekend is a chance to take the championship by storm and put your rivals on notice. Lytras knows how to win, and knows how to put together a championship-winning season, expect to see him up the pointy end this weekend as they rebound.
Supersport 300
The points setup for ASBK favours consistency. Despite the SS300 crew having three races a weekend, a DNF can leave you in the dust both literally and figuratively. Even a poor points result can be damaging, so even if you can’t win, scrape all the points you can. Looking at round one, it’s hard to go past Brandon Demmery. But on closer inspection, he missed the winning break in race three (9th) and had to settle for 12 points, when he was previously able to take 20 and 25 respectively.
While round winner Jai Russo was able to snaffle a race win, he was also “only” able to finish third and sixth in the other two races. Pole-sitter Cameron Swain was off the pace in races one (8th) and two (9th), but also sailed into the distance for a rare solo race win in race three.
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