With brilliant weather on the horizon for both competitors and spectators, it will be a packed 16-race program featuring not only the five regular ASBK classes – Alpinestars Superbike, Michelin Supersport, Supersport 300, Yamaha Finance R3 Cup and bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup – but also the return of the bullocking Sureflight Superbike Masters category for immaculately prepared machines manufactured between 1973 and 1990 – some which became instant classics.

Grab the official programme here…

There will also be a static display of ex-racing exotica over the last five decades, and some of them – such as an RC30 in the hands of multiple Aussie Superbike champion Malcolm Campbell – will be wheeled out for parade laps on Saturday and Sunday, too. Yep, a massive amount to see and do…

Michelin Superbike
Intrigue abounds across all the classes, including in the premier Alpinestars Superbike where Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda CBR1000RR-R SP) holds all the championship momentum after winning six of the last seven races and gaining the ascendancy from early-season pacesetter Josh Waters (McMartin Racing with K-Tech Ducati V4R).

However, Herfoss’ recent successes certainly haven’t been about putting the opposition to the sword, with the last Morgan Park Raceway round a case-in-point where he was involved in two towering battles with Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing YZF-R1M) before greeting the chequered flag in both races, with Glenn Allerton (GT Racing M 1000 RR) completing the trifectas.

Jones, the defending champion, is now primed for a last-ditch tilt at the title over the final two rounds – The Bend Motorsport Park (SA) hosts the grand final from December 1-3 – while Waters has won the last eight national-level Superbike races at the Victorian circuit but has had some injury concerns to overcome since Morgan Park after being caught up as collateral damage in practice for the Suzuka 8 Hours world endurance race. Could that bring Waters back to the field?

Max Stauffer (GTR MotoStars YZF-R1M) and fellow Yamaha riders Anthony West (Addicted to Track), Bryan Staring (MotoGo) and Arthur Sissis (Unitech Racing) will also be in the mix at Phillip Island, as well as Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati V4R) and Ted Collins (Livson Racing M 1000 RR).

There’s also extra spice with Goulburn’s Tom Toparis (Cube Racing YZF-R1M) back from a stellar season in the UK to contest Superbike (and Michelin Supersport) at Phillip Island. Toparis finished third in the 2023 British Supersport Championship, while also back from the UK is Jacob Hatch who finished ninth in the British Junior Superstock Championship. He will partner West in the Addicted to Track Superbike team. The Alpinestars Superbike category will have three unofficial practice sessions on Friday followed by timed practice and qualifying on Saturday and two 12-lap races on Sunday.

Michelin Supersport
In 2023, the Michelin Supersport Championship has boasted the largest number of entries in several years and the on-track intensity has reflected how much the level has lifted. Heading into the penultimate round, South Australian Oli Simpson (Simpson Crash Yamaha YZF-R6) has a 13pt lead over rapidly emerging 15-year-old Cameron Dunker from Kurri Kurri (NSW).

In only his second meeting on the GTR MotoStars YZF-R6, at SMSP, Dunker created history by becoming the youngest race winner in the 30-year history of the class. He backed that up with another win and pole position at Queensland Raceway and added another victory at Morgan Park in July. Early season points leader Ty Lynch (Unitech YZF-R6) is just 4pts adrift from Dunker in third spot, and he’s returning to a happy hunting ground after winning the opening round at Phillip Island in late February.

The fly in the ointment could be Toparis, who has no championship considerations to worry about and knows the fast way around Phillip Island. There could be some pyrotechnics coming our way!

Supersport 300
The Supersport 300 class will, as usual, produce three crackerjack races with a 99 per cent chance that all races will be decided by less than a second and the winner won’t be known until the final few metres of the race. Brandon Demmery (Race DNA YZF-R3) leads Cameron Swain (Caboolture YZF-R3) by just 2pts with Marcus Hamod (Motocity YZF-R3) a further 9pts behind in third.

Swain was peerless at the last round, taking pole position and three from three. And after his recent ‘school’ excursion to Europe which saw him finish on the podium during an R3 Cup cameo, he will take a vast load of confidence out of that learning into the round. 

Demmery has been extremely consistent, finishing in the top three at the past three rounds, while Hamod has also freshly returned from an R3 excursion in Europe. He broke through for his first wins at Queensland Raceway and is keen to add to his tally. Fast fact: Since 2018, the average winning margin across 25 Supersport 300 races at Phillip Island is just 1.13sec. Yep, the racing is bonkers!

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup
The two leading protagonists in the Australian Supersport 300 Championship – Brandon Demmery and Cameron Swain – also are on top of the Yamaha Finance R3 Cup but the positions are reversed as Swain leads Demmery by 10pts with Brodie Gawith 7pts away in third.

Extremely tight finishes are a theme at every round. It’s pulsating to the extreme, with riders often relegated from first to 10th in one corner and visa-versa at the next. It’s a case of blink and you’ll miss it. This weekend’s triple race treat will produce more of the same.

bLU cRU Oceana Junior Cup preview
After last weekend’s Phillip Island MotoGP where the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup was the support class, the youngsters who range in age from 11-16 years old will be well primed to continue their on-track antics. The GP crowd was enthralled with the talents of these rising stars. 

As we head into the penultimate round, Bodie Paige has a handy 20pt lead over Archie Schmidt, while the battle for third place heading has 10pts covering Haydn Fordyce from John Pelgrave.

The OJC is the nursery of the future and, like junior programs in the past, has produced riders that are now on the world stage. In the vein of all sports that if you start ‘em young, the world is your oyster. Many of these kids will find pearls instead of oysters. 

Sureflight Superbike Masters preview
The Sureflight Superbike Masters will also make a welcome return to the fold for the first time since round two at Sydney Motorsport Park. And the response from the classic racing community has been emphatic, with a total of 42 riders making the Island pilgrimage to compete across the four Period 5 (bikes manufactured between 1973 and 1982) and Period 6 (1983-1990) classes.

Brad Phelan (Katana, P5 Unlimited), Troy Corser (TZ750, P5 F1), Robert Young (Ducati 888 P6 Formula 750) and Keo Watson (Yamaha FZR1000, P6 Formula 1300) lead the respective Superbike Masters classes. The level of intensity will then ratchet up at Phillip Island, with South Aussie international David Johnson (Suzuki Katana), Scott Campbell (RC30), Denis Ackland (Z1000), the evergreen Albert Tehennepe (Kawaski Harris) and Ryan Taylor (GSX-R1100) among the new additions from the round two protagonists.

Editor’s Note: If you are reading this article on any website other than BikeReview.com.au, please report it to BikeReview via our contact page, as it has been stolen or re-published without authority.

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Even better, as MotoGP arrives back in Australia there’s truly everything on the line after an unbelievable whiplash twist in the title fight. On Saturday in Indonesia, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) continued his stunning run, taking the Championship lead for the first time as he won his fourth Sprint on the bounce and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) struggled to eighth after failing to make it out of Q1. But on Sunday, Martin made a sudden, shocking error to crash out the lead – and Bagnaia had already been on quite some mission to slice through the pack. With Martin’s crash, third became second and then the Italian attacked Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) to take the lead and win. What. A. Twist. And what a performance from a Pecco some had already started to write off.

Now it’s time to take on the Island and the title fighting duo will be stealing plenty of spotlight as the battle just gets hotter and hotter. We’re also in need of a real duel on track to see the gloves come off. Could the Island be the place? Last year, Bagnaia was on the podium and took the Championship lead that would lead to his first premier class crown on this very turf. Martin, after some hot pace early on, was only seventh… but the top seven were covered by eight tenths. For racing series with more wheels, that’s an almost offensively small gap.

Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), meanwhile, ain’t out of it yet either. It’s a long shot, but the Italian soldiered on at Mandalika despite that recent collarbone surgery, and in Australia last year was very, very fast – as was teammate Luca Marini. What can they do Down Under this time around? Can Johann Zarco(Prima Pramac Racing) join that fight at the front? Has Fabio Di Giannantonio(Gresini Racing MotoGP) got more impressive form after his best finish yet? What about his teammate Alex Marquez on the road to recovery? And what can we expect from Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) as he gets back in the groove? Eight Ducatis will be roaring down that Gardner Straight.

Let’s go back to Viñales, however. If you listed the venues you’d expect BatMav – we’ll let the fans decide whether that should stick – to threaten at the front, there’d be a few on there. Phillip Island? This place would definitely feature. Coming off the back of that performance in Indonesia too, the number 12 really could be one to watch, having been almost teasingly close to making that history as the first rider to win with three machines in the MotoGP era.

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), meanwhile, arrives from bad luck and hot speed wanting a lot more reward, and Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team) would also like a little luck back after a bit of a shunting from former teammate Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) at Mandalika. Raul Fernandez’ (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team), meanwhile, needs to rediscover that upward trajectory after a much tougher time of it in Indonesia. He’d been on a run of top ten finishes before yes, taking points last time out, but down in a P13 that was the last of the riders on the same lap. 

Also having a much tougher time of it in Indonesia after some real steps forward of late was Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team). Two DNFs and nothing much to show from the weekend – except a whole lotta love from one of the sport’s biggest markets – leave the number 93 looking for another uptick Down Under. But he is and has been, since a certain number 27 retired, the king of the Island. He was on the podium, and nearly the top step, in 2022, and he can’t be counted out. Even in the situation in which he finds himself in 2023. Can he?

That “nearly” to quantify Marquez’ 2022, however, came courtesy of now LCR Honda Castrol rider Alex Rins, who was back in the top ten at Mandalika for the first time since his broken leg. That’s impressive enough, and he played a masterpiece last season. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) will want to learn a few of those secrets on the other side of the garage, and Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) also wants a lot more as the Hondas all had a tougher weekend last time out, especially after the return to the front the number 36 had in India.

Speaking of a return to the front, and in this case just tenths off the win, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) completed the closest podium of the year so far in Indonesia. He qualified well, had a good Sprint and then seriously impressed in the Grand Prix race, scything through the gap to home in on the win and very nearly take it. Can Phillip Island be kinder too, despite it seeing him lose that Championship lead last season? For teammate Franco Morbidelli it’s a slightly opposite arrival as he suffered some issues at Mandalika and was ultimately a few laps down. Still, on Sunday his fastest lap was only a tenth off Quartararo.

Finally, KTM and GASGAS. At GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 it’s all about finding much better fortunes Down Under for both Augusto Fernandez and Pol Espargaro, with both enduring a tougher run of late. Better fortune is something also sought by Binder after a slightly adventurous Mandalika. On Saturday, he got taken out by Aleix Espargaro and on Sunday, he clashed with Marini AND Oliveira in two uncharacteristic incidents, both of which earned him a Long Lap. Uncharacteristic in that the South African usually poises his aggression perfectly. After a crash in Japan too, Binder will want a tidier weekend overall Down Under, but he can take heart from some speed in Indonesia as he came back through to sixth despite those excursions required in penance.

Last and by no means least, home hero Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) will be ready to get his elbows out at Phillip Island. The Australian is having a year of ups and downs in his new adventure with KTM, but there have been plenty of the former and he’ll want to make home turf count for another. The awesome Turn 4 now officially bears his name as we arrive for another showdown too, and fans are guaranteed a Thriller from Miller as he rides for them and some home glory…

The post The MotoGP Title Fight Is Ready To Boil Over Down Under appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

2022 has flown by in record-breaking speed as we’ve enjoyed the rollercoaster journey of another historic season of racing. So, it’s only fitting that a true classic venue brings us the showdown of the season, the 35th of WorldSBK action. The Grand Ridge Brewery Australian Round and the iconic Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit will draw the curtains on a mesmerising season and with the titles decided, new development tyres joining the allocation and a first visit to ‘The Island’ since the start of 2020, the stage is set for a classic weekend Down Under. 

The title race is all done and dusted for Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), meaning he can relax for Australia and Phillip Island this weekend. The last time at Phillip Island saw Bautista debut for Honda and take two well-deserved top six finishes from 16th on the grid, but he’s perhaps best remembered for his emphatic debut with Ducati in 2019, when he swept to three dominant wins, the first of which was nearly 15 seconds and the biggest dry margin in Phillip Island’s WorldSBK history. Whilst the title is done, attention turns to the Manufacturers’ Championship; Ducati just need a top four finish and they’ve got the job done in Race 1, whilst the Teams’ Championship will be secured if they don’t lose more than 34 points to Pata Yamaha. The battle for fourth should be job done for teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi, who is 34 points clear of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK). Outscoring his countryman by four points will give him fourth overall.

In second place, it looks settled for Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK), who relinquishes his crown after just one season. He’s 37 points ahead of title rival Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and if he maintains that gap, he’ll take the runner-up position. Razgatlioglu has a good track record at Phillip Island and took a stunning maiden win with Yamaha, heading up WorldSBK’s second-closest podium of all time. The outgoing World Champion aims to sign off the season in style but knows that the combination of his rivals and their packages will be a strong one. Teammate Locatelli has a mathematic chance at fourth overall in the Championship but realistically, he’ll aim to get fifth bagged, with just 15 points covering three riders to seventh place.

Third place going into his “second home round” of the season, Jonathan Rea is on record as solely looking for race wins and whilst he’s conscious that a win won’t mean that he and his Kawasaki team don’t have to look for improvement, it’s something he’ll look to achieve. Six wins on ‘The Island’ for Rea, he is within striking distance of matching Troy Corser’s record of seven at the circuit, but he knows it’ll be tough. A Superpole Race win in 2020 is his only win in the last eight races there and he’ll be hoping to end his win drought, whilst teammate Alex Lowes is the most recent winner at the track as he held off Rea for victory in Race 2 in 2020. He’s sixth in the standings, 11 points behind Locatelli, who’ll face Phillip Island on a WorldSBK bike for first time.

It’s game on for eighth in the Championship, although perhaps it is Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) who already has it in the bag, as he’s one point clear of the injured Iker Lecuona (Team HRC). It’s a big weekend for Redding, who returns to Phillip Island for the first time since his WorldSBK debut weekend, where he took three podiums with Ducati back in 2020. Redding is the lead BMW rider in the Championship and whilst that’s already locked in, he’ll hope to propel the German manufacturer to fourth in the Manufacturers’ Championship, as they’re currently three behind Honda. Teammate Michael van der Mark was in the battle for victory aboard Yamaha machinery in 2020, and he’ll aim to end his 2022 season well and also help BMW take fourth.

After Iker Lecuona’s injury sustained in FP2 at Mandalika, he slipped to ninth in the standings and is one point behind Redding. Lecuona’s had a stellar first season aboard the Honda and has had podiums and plenty of top five finishes, although he’s a major doubt for the weekend ahead. Honda’s hope lie with Xavi Vierge (Team HRC), who looks certain to stay in the top ten in the Championship. He’ll have the aim of outscoring BMW to try and deliver fourth for Honda, at a circuit he knows well from his Moto2 World Championship days. The Spaniard took a podium at the track in 2018 with third, as well a fifth the year before. Could he utilise Honda’s super concession update further this weekend?

Already crowned the best Independent Rider for 2022, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) is seventh and just four points off Lowes in sixth and just 15 from Locatelli in fifth. Bassani’s been a stand-out performer in WorldSBK in 2022 and he and the Motocorsa Racing team have delivered pound-for-pound. It is however Bassani’s first time at Phillip Island, so perhaps he’ll not be as far forward as we’ve seen before. Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) is the next Independent rider as he readies for a final weekend with his team at the track where it all began. Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) is 17 points behind Gerloff but always goes well at Phillip Island, with it being the last track he led a race at back in 2020. After being ruled out of Race 2 at Mandalika, Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) hopes to be back fit enough for the season finale, whilst it’s the same for Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) behind him, the Frenchman going to Australia for his final round with Manuel Puccetti’s outfit.

In 16th overall, Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) is getting ready for an emotional final round of his career and will look to sign off on a high at the circuit he took a last victory at back in 2014 for Suzuki. Xavi Fores (BARNI Spark Racing Team) has Laverty in his sights for Championship position and has been a podium finisher in Australia before, whilst he’s just ahead of Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), who also gets ready for his final round in WorldSBK before he moves to Moto2 World Championship action in 2023. Completing the running, Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team) and teammate Leandro Mercado hope for more points before their season ends, whilst after becoming the 587th different rider to score points in WorldSBK history, Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) will hope to continue that trend on his Phillip Island WorldSBK debut.

Championship Standings After Mandalika

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 553 points
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 487
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 279
4 Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 279

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Now the paddock heads to the Red Bull Ring and serious winning turf for Ducati, it could be another pivotal chance for Bagnaia to continue cutting that gap – especially as it’s often been tougher Sunday turf for Yamaha.

There is a new chicane to contend with, however, and that leaves lap records behind and adds an extra challenge to the weekend ahead. Still, the venue has seen many a Ducati win and for a handful of different riders, so the factory remains the favourite. With Bagnaia on form, teammate Jack Miller fresh from the podium, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) already a winner at the track and Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP) back up into the battle at Silverstone, there is a long list of hopefuls and it doesn’t even stop there, with the likes of Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) and Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) likewise quick and eager to make their mark.

Another factory eager to keep the pressure on Quartararo is Aprilia. Aleix Espargaro didn’t manage to capitalise on the number 20’s P8 at Silverstone as he took ninth, but after a huge highside on Saturday left him racing with a broken heel, that became a job well done in difficult circumstances as he only lost one point to the Frenchman. And there was still an Aprilia on the podium…

After speed before bad luck in Germany and then third at Assen, which marked his first rostrum finish with Aprilia Racing, second at Silverstone and only four tenths off Bagnaia was quite a statement from Maverick Viñales. The trend says the next step should be the top one, but it’s far from a simple task in MotoGP. Can Top Gun do it, in his 200th Grand Prix and at a poetic place to get back on top? The Aprilia remains as serious a threat as ever, and at the very least it may be a good weekend to chip away more points from Yamaha for both Noale machines.

Meanwhile, KTM are racing at home and will have big aims for the weekend. The tougher season continues but there have been solid moves forward, and both Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and teammate Miguel Oliveira have won at the venue, in two very different styles. With the grandstands full of orange and a new chicane for everyone, will the hills be alive with a podium challenge from the Mattighofen factory? They’ll certainly be pushing to the limit to try and get in that battle for the first time since the first couple of races of the season.

Suzuki will also want more from the Red Bull Ring. The Hamamatsu factory have form there and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) even more so, with the circuit having been the scene of his first win in the World Championship and the number 36 seeming to have figured out a few secrets to being fast in Styria. For teammate Alex Rins the same could be said of Silverstone and the number 42 spent much of the race at the front, but after fading in the latter stages he’ll be looking to bounce back. Qualifying remains a challenge for both Suzuki and KTM, with the riders often charging forward on Sunday, so that will likely be a focus too as the new chicane creates a new lap record.

For Honda there is some big news: Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) will be back in the paddock. The number 93 isn’t riding or racing again just yet, but he’ll be on hand as the Japanese factory continue to focus on developing the new RC213V. Already in contact from home, now the eight-time World Champion will be on site as Stefan Bradl and Pol Espargaro aim to take the Repsol Honda further into the points, as do Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) and Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol).

Is the Red Bull Ring still Borgo Panigale turf? Can Maverick Viñales put in a poetic weekend? Are KTM up to push forward on home turf? What will the standings look like as we head for San Marino? We’ll find out this weekend, with MotoGP going racing at 14:00 (GMT +2) on Sunday for the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich.

MotoGP Championship Top 5 Before Austria (Full Standings Here)

1 Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) – Yamaha – 180
2 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) – Aprilia – 158
3 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – Ducati – 131
4 Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP) – Ducati – 118
5 Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) – Ducati – 114

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Every round that Mike Jones pulls further ahead, it’s one less round to catch him, and as the available points pool starts to run out, we’re at this specific point of the season: the title is now his to lose.  Thanks to a handy 40-point lead over main rival Wayne Maxwell and coming into a round at a circuit he likes- Morgan Park – the overwhelming feeling is that this is where he will really seal the deal.

Grab your tickets for this weekend here…

While Maxwell will be fast and up the front at the Island for round six and a likely repeat winner at The Bend in November, it might be for now and just end up a nice way to actually-for-real finish his career.  But we never stop saying “it’s a funny old game” and acknowledge that pressure can do weird things to a racer, so we’ll come into Morgan Park with open hearts and minds. 

Leadership of the Championship aside, there’s plenty happening elsewhere and while Jones might have a 40-point lead, there’s just 31 points from second to sixth. There are also three riders in equal fourth on 136 points and two riders in equal 5th for the stats mad amongst us. 

While it’s not full silly season for rides in 2023 just yet, a number of riders will really want to improve their position in the championship and with everything rather close, a solid weekend could see a particularly crazy game of snakes and ladders taking place.

Alpinestars Superbikes – The Numbers

• Jones banked 70 from a possible 76 points and extended his lead by 17.
• With six races left in the three remaining rounds, Jones doesn’t need to win a single race to be crowned 2022 Champion. Three seconds and three thirds are enough, no matter what else happens.
• For Maxwell to win: Would need to win every race and take every pole with Jones needing to place third or worse at least four times.
• For Staring to claim the Championship: If Staring could manage pole plus the double win every round, Jones would need to finish fourth three times and third three times – Staring would win by 1 point.
• The 136 club of Herfoss, Halliday and Waters…. Okay so it’s theoretically possible. But a lot needs to go right for any one of the 136 club to win the championship.

Michelin Supersport
It’s been a few months between races for the Supersport 600 fraternity and some might need a quick look at the points before they roll out of pit lane this Friday to remind themselves; this is close! 

Early season form from Tom Bramich, Tom Drane, Olly Simpson and Tarbon Walker was somewhat collectively brought undone with DNS/DNFs at Wakefield, and *looks at remaining rounds* lads, there’s no time for that sort of thing. 

Championship leader John Lytras has slowly but surely risen to the top after an ordinary round one (21 points). From there, his points hauls have risen to 46 at round two and a near-perfect 50 points at round three. He now leads the Championship by 17 points. 

Always mindful that in 2022, we’ve had a number of leaders fall off or fall away in Supersport, so Morgan Park will be a very good test of whether Lytras is ready to run away with things or offer up some sort of hope to the likes of second placed Ty Lynch who is perhaps the only rider within genuine striking distance. 

Like those outside the top few spots in Superbike, there is a log jam in Supersport as well with just 11 points separating third placed Scott Nicholson (82) and eight placed Tom Bramich (71). So while the battle at the top is warm, the battle for the remaining spots is white-hot. 

Dunlop Supersport 300 
Cameron Dunker arrived at Wakefield thereabouts in the overall points situation (third), 12 points adrift of then leader Henry Snell, but left the Goulburn region a seemingly impossible 25 points in the lead in a perfect display of 300 racing, bagging the maximum 76 points on offer. 

With Snell unable to put his Yamaha anywhere near the front, he slipped to fourth overall, Jacobs stayed put in second and Glenn Nelson stepped up one spot into third overall. Taiyo Akso showed plenty of newfound pace at Wakefield and was second overall for the weekend, but from fifth in the championship race, it’s a big task to bridge the 58-point deficit to Dunker. 

And so on to Morgan Park. Like their Supersport 600 brethren, it’s been a while between bouts for the always entertaining 300 class and Morgan Park is a perfect arena for their particular brand of hand-to-hand combat racing. 

Until Dunker really stepped up at Wakefield, there’s been no rider able to impress themselves upon the Championship. He now finds himself in the unenviable position of not only Championship leader, but no doubt “the-guy-to-follow” in every practice and qualifying session this weekend.  

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup 
While there’s a lot of form carry over from the Supersport 300 Championship, Glenn Nelson and Liam Waters were able to take wins at Wakefield Park on a weekend when Cameron Dunker won three races and snagged the extra point for pole in Dunlop Supersport 300. 

That said, Dunker took the overall R3 Cup honours at Wakefield and cut series leader Glenn Nelson’s overall lead to just 10 points. With a sizeable gap back to third placed Hayden Nelson, the series looks likely to come down to a Glenn Nelson/Dunker battle. 

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup
After the most exciting announcement of the year- that the OJC crew will be a support category at the MotoGP event- it would be easy to gloss over the importance of the overall situation and this event. 

Harrison Watts and Hudson Thompson have been in an arm wrestle all season and after receiving equal points at Wakefield after three races, they are looking more like Siamese twins than fierce rivals.  Round one winner Cameron Rende is still well in the hunt, and this round will again be very close as the OJC riders shape up for the back half of season 2022. 

Live Broadcast Information:

• SBS: Sunday 7 August 1pm-4pm
• ASBK Livestream: Sunday 7 August 9:55AM – 12:40PM & 4PM – 4:30PM

The post ASBK Descends Upon Morgan Park This Weekend! appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

The 35th season of World Superbike action is proving to be one of the best yet and with a three-way fight for the title clear, other stars aim to have a say at a round that brings seen shocks and surprises. Could this be one of the key turning points in 2022, or will we see the usual suspects continue to knock spots off each other?

12 podiums from 12 races in 2022 and leading the Championship by 36 points, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) has undertaken a more measured approach in 2022 in comparison to 2019 and it seems to be working. The Spaniard has won six races and is the only rider in the Championship to have finished on the podium in every race he’s finished.

owever, Donington Park has been far from a happy hunting ground for Ducati in recent years; no win since 2011 and the Ducati Panigale V4 R has only had one third place – courtesy of Bautista in 2019’s Race 2. No top two finish since 2016, will Bautista change all of that? Teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi had a successful test at Misano during the break and will look to back-up his findings and step back on the podium, whilst Ducati chase their 1000th podium in WorldSBK; they currently have 998.

Chasing down Bautista and heading home to rule the roost, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) will be keen to continue his success at Donington Park. A sole win last year and a triple in 2019, Rea’s got amazing form at Donington Park. He’s been testing for the Suzuka 8 Hour race during the gap since Misano and will hope that he can hit the ground running at a circuit at which he crashed at in 2021’s Race 2, relinquishing the Championship lead. This time, he’s chasing it from Bautista at a circuit where Rea certainly seems to have the upper hand. On the other side of the garage, Alex Lowes hopes to dazzle at home after a podium in Race 1 in 2021; Kawasaki as a manufacturer are one podium place away from 500 in WorldSBK – will they manage it?

Looking to build on a first victory from the last round at Misano, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) hopes that Donington Park lives up to be the happy hunting ground of years gone by. Along with San Juan, Donington Park is one of just two circuits where Razgatlioglu has taken a podium at least once every year he’s raced there. In 2018, he took a first rostrum whilst in 2019, he battled for victory in Race 2 with Jonathan Rea. However, the Turk’s opening lap of Race 1 in 2021 will go down as one of WorldSBK’s finest moments as he cruised to two wins and the Championship lead. Does more success await? Teammate Andrea Locatelli will aim to consolidate his top five placing with a strong ride this weekend, where he had a best of ninth in the Superpole Race.

In what has been a very strong opening four rounds of the Championship, a challenge lies ahead for Iker Lecuona (Team HRC). The Spanish rookie has never raced at Donington Park and only completed a track day at the circuit prior to the round. One of just two riders to finish every race – the other being compatriot Bautista – Lecuona is nine points from Locatelli in the battle for fourth. Honda only have one round of experience with their current bike at Donington Park, with a best of fourth with Leon Haslam in the Superpole Race last year, but they’ll hope a pre-round test at Misano can give them a boost going to the UK. Hoping to be fighting fit, Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) will have to get his head around the quirky circuit layout during the round.

Likewise in a track day at Donington Park in between rounds, the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and Scott Redding. One of Redding’s career highlights came at the British circuit, when in 2008, he became the then-youngest Grand Prix winner in the 125cc World Championship Grand Prix, aged just 15. Since then, wins in BSB but no podiums in WorldSBK have come at the circuit, with a best of fourth in Race 2 last year. Illia Mykhalchyk (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) will once again be present in the place of double Donington Park winner Michael van der Mark who is still recovering from injury; he’s scored points in WorldSSP and STK1000 at Donington Park before.

The Independent battle is led by Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), who returns to Donington Park, historically a tricky circuit for him, despite being top Ducati in Race 1 last year. Eighth overall and just seven points behind Alex Lowes, he’s 23 ahead of Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW), who aims to return to the top six at a track he knows well, having fought for victory in 2014. 11 points further back of Baz is Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), who returns to the circuit at which he got his last podium at 12 months ago, when he was second in Race 2. Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) will race at Donington Park for the first time, whilst Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) has a podium to his name at the track; both complete the top five in the Independent standings.

Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) is next up in 15th place overall, with the Italian just marginally ahead of Sammarinese rider Luca Bernardi (BARNI Spark Racing Team), who’s made steps of late. Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) will hope to be passed fit after being ruled out of Misano, whilst Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) makes a debut at the track as he missed out through injury in 2021.

Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha), like Mahias, hopes to be fit after being ruled out in Italy, whilst the target for MIE Racing Honda Team duo Leandro Mercado and Hafizh Syahrin is points. Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) is another rider hoping to be passed fit, whilst home-hero Leon Haslam returns with the TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki outfit. Two wildcards to keep an eye on: long-awaited debut of Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) and return of Peter Hickman (FHO Racing) on a BMW M1000RR.

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In the THOR MX1 class, we have witnessed yet another potential momentum swing in the Championship, with the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy rider of Arron Tanti coming into his own at the previous Round at Gillman in SA. Tanti finally put it all together, matching his blistering sprint speed with endurance and consistency to weather challenges from all of the Championship contenders in THOR MX1, taking the second Moto victory at Gillman, the overall win for the Round and opening up a 12 point lead at the top of the THOR MX1 class standings with the Red Plate.

One thing is for sure, Tanti will feel at home in the familiar confines of the Maitland track and if there is any round he is able to capitalise on momentum and set the narrative for the rest of the Championship, it will be right here at Maitland! Watch for Tanti from the start of the day when Tanti throws down his patented sprint laps in the AMX Superstores Top 10 Pole Shootout.  

It is the 2019 Champion of Todd Waters on the Husqvarna Racing Australia machine that has proved consistency is key, sitting in 2nd place in the Championship heading into Round 5. Behind Waters, Go24 KTM’s Brett Metcalfe will look to capitalise on newfound confidence from a Moto win and overall podium at his home town race in Gillman.

Another compelling story from Gillman came with the HRC Factory Honda Racing rider of Dean Ferris, who quietly came into the round nursing the effects of a mid week practice crash. It was not the dominance we witnessed at Wodonga, but a consistent day inside the top 5 that now leaves Ferris 23 points out of the Red Plate and undoubtedly looking to rebound and set the tone for the rest of the Championship at Maitland. KTM Australia’s Kirk Gibbs also returned to form at Gillman with an overall podium, now sitting 5th in the Championship, Gibbs is another veteran who can factor into the podium battles at any time during the second half of the Championship. 

In Pirelli MX2, HRC Honda Racing Australia’s Wilson Todd comes into the Round regaining full command of the Championship after a dominating performance at Gillman. Taking a perfect day with 1-1 Moto scores and edging out one of his closest rivals of Alex Larwood on the Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team at his hometown race, Todd has really set the tone that it is his Championship to control as we commence the second half of the season. Todd now sits a whopping 61 points clear with the Red Plate, with the only rider to beat him to a Moto win in 2022, Serco Yamaha’s Bailey Malkiewicz, battling a knee injury from Gillman, it is time for someone to step up to the plate and challenge Todd’s dominance. Who will that be? Time will tell at Maitland this weekend.  

In Maxxis MX3, we have seen youthful exuberance and inconsistency shake up the Championship standings, with KTM Australia mounted youngster Kayden Minear closing the gap to just 1 point out from HRC Honda Racing Australia’s Cambell Williams. It is safe to say that Maitland will be a battleground for momentum in the Maxxis MX3 field and all eyes will be on Minear Vs. Williams to see what the youngster’s can do to stake their claim on the Red Plate.

In a further addition to the incredible line up of ProMX action, Maitland will also host the first of the Yamaha bLU cRU YZ65 Cup Rounds for the Championship. This incredible initiative by Yamaha Australia gives young riders competing on YZ65 machines the opportunity to compete on the same race track as their Factory racing heroes. Experiencing a once in a lifetime weekend pitting out of the bLU cRU truck, with unparalleled access to Yamaha’s professional MX race teams, each YZ65 Cup participant is rewarded with memories that last a lifetime.

Don’t miss out on any of the action and get your tickets for Round 5 of the 2022 Penrite ProMX Championship presented by AMX Superstores by clicking here.

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After deposing the “no Yamaha win since 2009” stat at the Sachsenring, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) arrives on the front foot and with his eye on another: no one’s won back to back at Assen since Valentino Rossi did it in 2004 and 2005. Since the Quartararo reigned last year in the Netherlands, it’s within reach… and his form only backs that statement up further. Three in a row would be quite a way to head into summer break.

Elsewhere at Yamaha, Darryn Binder (WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP) and Andrea Dovizioso will want more, the latter a former podium finisher at Assen and the former looking for a bounce back before summer break. Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), meanwhile, continues looking for a big step forward, the Italian well outside his already conquered postcode of the podium fight so far in 2022.

At Aprilia, meanwhile, it can raise a smile that one of their worst races of the season so far, all told, is still in fact what the Noale factory would have been aiming for at the start of just last season. “Worst” describing fourth place for Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) still maintains the number 41 in second overall and was another consistent, big-points finish he’ll be looking to build on again.

On the other side of the garage there’s another two-sided coin for Maverick Viñales from Germany too: he suffered a technical issue and had to retire, but he had to retire after having been pinned to the back of his teammate for some time, looking like a podium charge was on the cards. Will there be one at Assen? It’s those final laps of the race, the ones we didn’t get to see at the Sachsenring, where ‘Top Gun’ often shines, and everything seems to be coming together.

That statement is also true of Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing). The Frenchman is on a steady upward curve of results with the next natural number in the progression being 1 aka the win. As satisfying a stat as that would be, his recent run already stands alone as impressive. Now third overall – and top Ducati in the Championship – can he pull another podium out the bag?

Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) did just that in Germany to put some tougher races behind him, and ‘Thriller’ did it despite a Long Lap penalty too. Of all those on the grid, Miller’s memories of Assen are probably the sweetest as he took that incredible win in 2016, so what can he do in 2022? And can Jorge Martin (Prima Racing) find something more? What will Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP) have in the locker after impressive speed in Germany? Can Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP) bounce back from a stint of going AWOL?

Then, of course, there’s Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team). From bad luck in Barcelona to a slide out of second at the Sachsenring, it’s been a tougher few weeks for the number 63. Assen hasn’t traditionally been the best for Ducati, but Pecco even has the track as a tattoo, having taken his very first win there in Moto3 in 2016. He’s also reigned in Moto2, and knows his way around the Cathedral. The gap to the top is now a big one, but the season is only half way done…

Lurking a single point above both Bagnaia and Miller in the standings, meanwhile, is the truest Sunday rider of late – in the best sense. No matter the grid position, when the lights go out Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) wrings some magic out of his KTM, and he’s now into the top five overall. It’s never two or three positions either, it’s a charge as far as the charge can possibly go, and it’s paying dividends. Can he and teammate Miguel Oliveira – who is gaining back some solid form too – take that extra step forward at Assen?

Another factory looking for more, in their case a real bounce back, is Suzuki. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) crashed out in Germany after that stunning charge in Barcelona, and the number 36 will be gunning for glory at Assen. Teammate Alex Rins, meanwhile, tried to take part put then hit a serious pain barrier before withdrawing due to his wrist. Can he try again at Assen?

Finally, Honda. The stat sounds a little brutal: no points for the first time since the French GP in 1982. But all told, that happening at the track where the marque won the previous 11 races probably takes the sting out, as is likely also true of the well-stocked trophy cabinet added to in the intervening decades. It’s a tough run, however, with Stefan Bradl the sole finisher for Repsol Honda Team, teammate Pol Espargaro riding through the pain barrier, Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) suffering a technical issue and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) sliding out.

All four riders have shown much more this season already, so the TT Circuit Assen will certainly bring the factory back into the points as a minimum, and offer some more track time as they fettle the all-new Honda RC213V. 

Classic, historic, and nestled in the north of one of northern Europe’s most vibrant countries, there have already been 72 great reasons to visit Assen – or tune in. This weekend provides the 73rd as MotoGP returns to the Cathedral, so join us at 14:00 (GMT +2) on Sunday for the final showdown before summer break!

MotoGP Championship Top 5 Heading To Assen (Full Standings Here)

1 Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) – Yamaha – 172
2 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) – Aprilia – 138
3 Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) – Ducati – 111
4 Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP) – Ducati – 100
5 Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – KTM – 82

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Sure, Mike Jones showed he was the man to beat, and the Yamaha factory was certainly well sorted for the 2.2km layout. But after Wayne Maxwell’s team made an uncharacteristic error early in the proceedings, the gift was the pole position and the psychological advantage. For the leading duo, Wakefield indicated to those assembled that perhaps we have our 2022 champion pair and it’s now down to the remaining races to decide which one of them takes the trophy.

Grab your tickets for the weekend here…

For Bryan Staring, the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown is a real “line in the sand” moment. After scoring 45 points at round one, the West Australian has been on a slight downward slide, and the bike and rider seemed incredibly out of sorts at Wakefield as he scored just 32 points. If he wants to stay in the Championship hunt, then a solid points haul is necessary. Confidence ought to be high after the DesmoSport Ducati took a win here last year with Oli Bayliss aboard.

The Maxima Oils Racing duo of Josh Waters and Glenn Allerton might perhaps have the words of Wayne Maxwell ringing in their ears when he stated at the post round three press conference that they appeared to be “not making forward progress”. The BMW seems to have all they need to be front runners- power, handling a solid and electronics package, but an interrupted program for Allerton and Waters’ relative unfamiliarity has indeed slowed their progression. Darwin offers a chance to bring the BMW M1000RR to the pointiest end of the field.

For a guy who is currently fifth in the Championship, Cru Halliday has flown under the radar thanks to the success of teammate Mike Jones and Halliday’s own struggles. A solid result at Wakefield – where he scored more points in race one than he did in total at Round Two in Queensland, has put the likeable larrikin back into contention for the top three.

Troy Herfoss is the great unknown. His past results indicate that he certainly does well at Hidden Valley, and his growing fitness and pace shows that he could certainly be a contender. With Paul Free back in his corner and his indefatigable self-belief, eyes will be on the Honda Fireblade in the early sessions. Suffice to say, there’s a few demons that he will need to banish before he can really get down to business.

The format for the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown sees the Alpinestars Superbikes race three times over two days- a change to the usual two races on the Sunday. While this does not offer any particular rider an advantage, it does advantage teams that are fast on out-of-the-gate Friday morning as there is effectively one day less until race day.

Live Broadcast Information:

Fox Sports Australia

• Friday – Free Practice 2 and Free Practice 3
• Saturday – Qualifying 1 & Qualifying 2, plus Race 1
• Sunday – Race 2 (Exclusively Live on Fox) & Race 3

Channel 7

• Saturday – Race 1
• Sunday – Race 3

SBS

• Sunday 3rd July 1pm- The ASBK Darwin Show

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Ahead of the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round, the press caught up with all of the stars from up and down the grid, as they preview their weekend ahead and lay down the gauntlet, with all eyes on more battles from the titanic trio, as well as on a Honda rider who came back from testing for the Suzuka 8 Hour.

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “I think there’ll be more riders fighting for the victory If I can have fun on the bike, I can be competitive. It will be nice if I can win all three races for the fans so just trying to enjoy it together. It’s a track that’s very short, so we saw in the past fighting in the races. Here, my teammate Rinaldi won two races here last year. He was second in Race 2 so he will be competitive. I don’t think this round will only be three riders fighting for the victory, we are also talking about Michael to fight for the victory. It’s a track that’s very technical and the differences are very small compared to other tracks. I think there will be more riders fighting for victory and for the podium; it’ll be more exciting for everybody watching the races.”

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK): “I expect a lot more to join the party at Misano. Last year, our biggest nemesis was the SCX tyre. We could only really work that tyre in the real hot conditions. Estoril was mid-20s, we would be scared of that last year. Race 2 showed us that we could be convinced that we can use that tyre now. All our work in the offseason has paid off. I feel like at the end of the race, we had the better tyre and was able to go forward and catch Alvaro and spring a pass on the last lap. That gives us some confidence that these summer races can be even better. I’m just enjoying racing, enjoying riding the bike and the battle right now at the front with Toprak and Alvaro, two very different characters on the track, is really fun but I expect a lot more to join that party at Misano.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK): “A very positive test… we need luck! After Estoril, we had a one-day test and we tried many new parts, especially with rear grip. At Estoril, my big problem was spinning on the exit of the final corner. It was a very positive test, and we improved the rear grip. Last year, I won for the first time at Misano and after Estoril, I feel like we are fighting for the win again. I like the track and I love Italy! Sometimes we need luck, especially in Race 1 at Estoril when Bautista passed me easily on the straight, and then in the Superpole Race, I almost won but I made a very small mistake, although maybe it’s not small as I nearly crashed! I’m smiling after the race weekend but this round, we’re fighting to win again as I’ve been training a lot in Turkey and the team have been working hard. Last year, Rinaldi was very fast at this track so maybe he will come strong again this year. I just focus on my job and try to enjoy it.”

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “We had to sacrifice the result for the future. I feel super happy to be here and to race at home, a track that I like. It’s a track where my friends and fans can come, and this is great! I think I can be in the battle and I will try to win, and I will push my 120%. After Assen, we changed our way of working and we knew at Estoril that we wouldn’t have the result. Last year, we were really, really strong or really, really bad, never constant. We started this year at Aragon when I was fast with the top guys but then I went back, and it was the same at Assen. Like this, maybe I would win some races but not be there in all of them, so I needed to find something different. The team agreed so at Estoril, we were in a phase where we had to sacrifice the result for the future. We are still working but I think Misano can help us to get to the top set up. I’m working hard with the team and I hope the work pays off.”

Iker Lecuona (Team HRC): “Very happy with this season so far… test at Suzuka was amazing! I’m very happy with this season so far. This track I know very well. I like it, it’s not my best track but normally I go quite fast. It’s my first time here with Honda and the Superbike so I know that normally, in the first part of the weekend we struggle a lot, so we need to work but we can be there. The test at Suzuka was an amazing experience. It’s a very beautiful track, a difficult and fun track. It’s true the bike is not very different, but some parts are different like tyres for example. I need to learn a lot quickly to feel fine on the bike, but this helped us to get the feeling with the bike. For me, it’s nice if we go to the eight-hour race, but it’s still not confirmed.”

Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha): “The past is no indicator of what the future holds. I’m happy to be here and happy that the doctor said I was good to go. I would say I’m 100% for the most part, it hurts a little bit but I can bend my knee. My approach is to take it one thing at a time; on Friday morning, it might be raining a little bit so that might be a nice way to ease my way into things. We tested here earlier this year so I have a good idea about where we’ll start with everything, so hopefully we can have the same feeling right away. I felt like my pace was good here last year and my times were competitive. The past is no indicator of what the future holds; everyone is going fast this year so it will be a matter of trying to stay close to the top. I think we’re going in the right way.”

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