ASBK Championship delicately poised ahead of Phillip Island shootout

The 2024 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) returns to the exhilarating Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit this weekend (September 7-8), with fierce battles expected across all classes as the season reaches make or break territory for many riders.

Thanks to continued support from the Victorian Government, Phillip Island’s round five of the ASBK Championship will be a fast and furious two-day affair featuring the AMA Warehouse Superbike, Michelin Supersport, Race and Road Supersport 300 and Nolan Superbike Masters classes joined by the edgy Aussie Racing Cars for some four-wheel flair.

Spectators will receive free entry into the ASBK paddock at Phillip Island while the event will also feature off-track activities to entertain the family including pit walks, ‘Mini Moto Come and Try’ sessions for kids, the ASBK Trade Alley and the chance to meet their favourite ASBK riders during autograph sessions across the weekend. Two competition winners will also experience thrilling pillion rides behind former ASBK champions Steve Martin and Troy Corser.

Phillip Island is also a brilliant place to visit, and highlights include its renowned surf beaches, Penguin Parade, the Koala Conservation Centre, Seal Rocks, the pioneering spirit of Churchill Island, and myriad dining options including freshly caught seafood.

To purchase tickets for Phillip Island, click here. Tickets will also be available at the gate.

Related:
Download the official ASBK round five program
ASBK and Phillip Island reuniting for more high-speed thrills
Things to see and do at the Phillip Island ASBK round
Darren Lark to be honoured at Phillip Island ASBK round
AMA Warehouse to sponsor ASBK Superbike class

AMA Warehouse Superbike
Based on the hard-edged racing we’ve already witnessed this season, the AMA Warehouse Superbike class will undoubtedly produce more of the same nose-to-ducktail and fairing bashing around the classic, sweeping curves of Phillip Island.

Championship leader Josh Waters (McMartin Racing Ducati) will be keen to climb atop the dais again as he hasn’t won a race since round two at Sydney Motorsport Park.

In the last outing at Morgan Park, Waters’ scorecard was 4-3 as his lead in the championship was slashed to 17pts by the in-form Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team).

Jones’ campaign began as a slow burn before he exploded on the Queensland swing of the championship, with he and Waters now sharing the same number of wins (four) in 2024, while Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing Team) is the other victor.

Waters is now on 179.5pts, ahead of Jones (162.5), Halliday (145), Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati, 139.5) and Penrite Racing Yamaha pair Max Stauffer (130) and Cameron Dunker (115.5).

Pearson was second in both races at Morgan Park, as well as grabbing a point for pole position, while a herculean effort from Stauffer saw him finish third in race one while battling injuries sustained in a heavy crash the day before.

Phillip Island is a completely different proposition though, and Waters’ affinity with the layout is supreme: he has only been defeated twice in his last 11 outings aboard the Ducati.

Waters claimed the clean sweep in round one this year after tight battles against teammate Harrison Voight – who will also feature this round before he returns to his European Moto2 commitments – and defending champion Troy Herfoss (DesmoSport Ducati).

Voight is the lap record holder at Phillip Island, so don’t be surprised if it’s a McMartin Racing benefit and the 18-year-old’s withering benchmark of 1:30.790 is lowered yet again during the two 11-lap races.

There are others who will be right in the mix, including three-time Superbike champion Glenn Allerton (GT Racing BMW), who is no stranger to winning at the Island, Stauffer, the multi-talented Dunker – who last Sunday won a race in the Aussie Flat Track Nationals in Brisbane – Arthur Sissis (Stop and Seal Yamaha), Anthony West (Addicted to Track Yamaha) and Bryan Staring (MotoGo Yamaha).

Matt Walters (Kawasaki) also returns after an injury-interrupted year – and back on a Kawasaki too, where he has enjoyed most of his ASBK success.

A healthy grid of 22 riders will compete in the AMA Warehouse Superbike class.

Michelin Supersport
With 44pts separating five riders, six races remaining and a maximum of 150pts up for grabs this season, there’s still a lot to play out in the Michelin Supersport class – beginning at Phillip Island.

Jonathan Nahlous has a 32pt lead over Archie McDonald, who in turn is only 12pts ahead of fifth-placed Jake Farnsworth. Olly Simpson and Tom Bramich are third and fourth, with the top five all on Yamahas.

Nahlous dominated this year’s Phillip Island opener, with his relentless pace and work rate leaving everyone in his wake as he also set a new lap record of 1:34.682. Simpson, Bramich, Jack Mahaffy (Yamaha) and Mark Chiodo (Honda) also featured on the podium that weekend.

Thanks to massive improvement across the board in a class that has been hugely entertaining in 2024, another maximum-point haul for the just-turned 18-year-old Nahlous will come with a much higher level of difficulty this time around.

Mahaffy, Jack Favelle (Yamaha), Hayden Nelson (Kawasaki) and Glenn Nelson (Yamaha) complete the top 10 in the standings, while reigning Supersport 300 champion Marcus Hamod (Honda) returns from injury this weekend.

Race and Road Supersport 300
If there has ever been a processional race in the Race and Road Supersport 300 class over the years, it must have been in another dimension!

It definitely hasn’t happened at Phillip Island, with most races featuring five or six riders separated by milliseconds across the finish line.

This brings us to the latest instalment this weekend, where Josh Newman (Kawasaki) leads the championship by a wafer-thin 1pt (224 to 223) over Valentino Knezovic (Yamaha), followed by Harrison Watts (Kawasaki, 211).

Five riders have won this season across the 12 races, with Watts’ first coming at Phillip Island in February as the local stars slugged it out with visiting Czech international Petr Svoboda.

Twenty-three riders will compete in the three seven-lap races, with Tara Morrison (Kawasaki) a welcome return after recovering from a broken pelvis.

Nolan Superbike Masters
The Nolan Superbike Masters class will be out in force with a weekend-leading 32 entries!

Jack Passfield currently leads after an impressive outing at Sydney Motorsport Park, ahead of defending champion Keo Watson and Josh Mathers – all Yamaha mounted. Dean Oughtred (Yamaha) and Ryan Taylor (Suzuki) are next.

Spectators can also get up close to the classic grand prix, F1 and production-based machines of the past, including models like the Yamaha TZ750, Suzuki Katana, Honda VFR750R, Yamaha FZR1000, Kawasaki Z1000, Harris XR69, Honda CB1100 and Ducati 888.

There will also be a poignant element to the round, with a get-together on Saturday afternoon to remember former class coordinator Darren Lark, who passed away suddenly in April this year. A ‘Darren Lark Perpetual Trophy’ has now been created, which will be awarded to the overall winner of Superbike Masters starting this season.