2024

ASBK Championship heading to the bright lights of Sydney Motorsport Park

By MA Media 0

The 2024 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) switches into blockbuster night mode for round two at Sydney Motorsport Park on March 22-23.

After the resounding success of the inaugural Night Race in 2023 – a first for the ASBK Championship – it’ll all happen again this year thanks to continued support from the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.

There’s a jam-packed on-track schedule across both days (Friday and Saturday), with action aplenty guaranteed from the Alpinestars Superbike, Michelin Supersport, Race and Road Supersport 300, bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup and Superbike Masters classes.

And when Australia’s best riders aren’t punching and counterpunching around the 3.93km grand prix circuit, there’s a wide variety of activities for the whole family including the ASBK pit-walk and fan engagement experiences, and the opportunity to rub shoulders and grab an autograph and selfie from seven ASBK legends: Chris Vermeulen, Garry McCoy, Steve Martin, Troy Corser, Peter Goddard, Mat Madlin and Robbie Phillis.

Corser and fellow ASBK ambassador Steve Martin will also continue the popular ASBK Pillion Program for selected lucky patrons, while Corser, Vermeulen, McCoy and Phillis will also feature in a Superbike Masters parade on Saturday night.

The ASBK Fan Zone and Trade Alley will also be in full swing, complete with a giant screen for the ASBK TV feed, manufacturer and industry displays and a wide variety of food options.

For the kids, there’s the ASBK Mini Moto Program – a 50cc mini motorcycle experience that is free to participate in – on Saturday afternoon, with all gear supplied.

Plenty of reasons to get yourself trackside at Sydney Motorsport Park for the ASBK Night Race!

ALPINETARS SUPERBIKE
The overriding question in the Alpinestars Superbike category is if anyone can interrupt the march of three-time champion Josh Waters and his McMartin Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R.

After just missing out on a fourth ASBK title last year after being overrun by a fast-finishing Troy Herfoss, Waters is doubly keen and fully fit to reclaim the honour.

The sample size in 2024 is still relatively small – three races at the Phillip Island opener in February – but Waters’s clean sweep at the seaside venue was a carbon copy of 2023.

Ominously, he then went onto score maximum points at Sydney Motorsport Park as well, so will history repeat itself in 2024?

The lap record holder at Sydney Motorsport Park is undoubtedly the favourite, but it certainly wasn’t outright domination at Phillip Island as he was pushed to the limit by his teenage teammate Harrison Voight and Herfoss, now on a DesmoSport Ducati in an ‘event-by-event’ commission after winning last year’s championship on a Honda.

While the trio ultimately battled for the race wins, it was just as intense behind as the likes of Yamaha Racing Team duo Cru Halliday and Mike Jones, Bryan Staring (MotoGo Yamaha) and Anthony West (Addicted to Track Yamaha) were involved in rolling scrums.

Waters may have won, but it was Voight who announced himself on the big stage in truly emphatic fashion. He’s not only second in the Alpinestars Superbike standings, but also set a new lap record around Phillip Island.

Voight and Waters both won races at the western Sydney venue during the recently completed St George Summer Night Series and, with no team orders, Voight is primed to stand on the top step of the podium at least once before he begins his European Moto2 campaign in Italy next month.

And don’t discount Herfoss, who’s on a high after a superb performances in the King of the Baggers and Super Hooligans classes during his return to the American racing scene in Daytona.

No doubt he will use that experience to his advantage alongside teammate Broc Pearson as he aims to defend his title – notwithstanding his commitments in America.

Meanwhile, the mercurial Halliday will be a definite threat in Sydney after a 2-3 scorecard in 2023, and the rejuvenated West – the reigning New Zealand Superbike champion – will be aiming to climb on the podium.

Then there is three-time champion Glenn Allerton (GT Racing BMW), who is back to somewhere near full fitness after a massive crash at Sydney Motorsport Park in February.

And don’t forget the two youngsters in the class on the Penrite Racing Yamahas: best buddies Max Stauffer and Cameron Dunker. It’s Max’s third year in the class but for Dunker it will be his second meeting on the YZF-R1 after claiming last year’s Michelin Supersport Championship on the day he turned the spritely age of 16!

Arthur Sissis (Unitech Racing Yamaha) will again be pushing hard in the 24-rider field, while his fellow South Aussie Ty Lynch (AMR Motorsports Yamaha) will be making his Superbike debut after finishing third in the 2023 Supersport title.

The two 13-lap Alpinestars Superbike races will be held at 4:55pm and 9:10pm on Saturday.

MICHELIN SUPERSPORT
The Michelin Supersport Championship has a new rising star on the scene in the shape of Jonathan Nahlous – and if Phillip Island is any indication, he will be a household name very soon.

After serving his apprenticeship in the Oceania Junior Cup and Supersport 300 classes, “JJ” – as he prefers to be called – is now in his second year of Supersport, and he began the season in a blaze of glory at Phillip Island on his Yamaha.

He claimed new qualifying and lap records and backed it up with three dominant victories, the smallest winning margin by 2.4 seconds over Tom Bramich (Yamaha) in race three.

Whether he can continue that stellar form under lights in Sydney will be another matter as the Michelin Supersport field is the strongest it has been for some time with a healthy combination of experience and those graduating from the feeder classes.

One rider with plenty of experience is two-time Australian Supersport champion, Tom Toparis (Yamaha), who will hold off on his Superbike debut and remain in a class he knows well. Toparis is yet to score championship points after he focussed on a World Supersport wildcard at Phillip Island.

Other contenders in the two 11-lappers include the battle-hardened Olly Simpson (Yamaha), who’s second in the 2024 standings behind Nahlous and in front of Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha), Bramich – in comeback mode after a knee reconstruction in 2023 – reigning Supersport 300 champion Marcus Hamod (Honda), Hayden Nelson (Kawasaki), Archie McDonald (Yamaha) and Mark Chiodo (Honda).

RACE AND ROAD SUPERSPORT 300
The form guide for the Race and Road Supersport 300 category at Sydney Motorsport Park is wide open, so picking a winner is anyone’s guess.

While there was a Czech ‘interloper’ at the first round – Petr Svoboda – who won two of the three races, he certainly got the hurry up from the local stars, including ex-OJC and FIM MiniGP champion Harrison Watts who has found a new life with a Kawasaki.

Another Kawasaki rider who impressed at the Island was Joshua Newman, who is second in the standings. Newman will be at his home track and knocking on the door for his first win in the class.

Yamaha quartet Ryan Larkin, Mitch Simpson, Valentino Knezovic and Lincoln Knight will also be in the mix, and there’s a sharp-shooter from New Zealand making his ASBK debut – Jesse Stroud (Kawasaki), the son of nine-time NZ Superbike champion, multiple Daytona Battle of the Twins winner and former 500GP and WorldSBK rider, Andrew Stroud.

Jesse recently won the Supersport 300 class in both the NZ TT and NZ championship, and he’ll now attempt to carry that winning form over into the Race and Road Supersport 300 class in Sydney.

Unfortunately, one rising star who will be missing across the three eight-lap races is Tara Morrison (Kawasaki), the daughter of ex-stunt rider Allan Morrison. She crashed in last weekend’s combined Victoria-SA Championships at The Bend and broke a collarbone, which is a bitter pill to swallow after she claimed her maiden podium at Phillip Island.

BLU CRU OCEANIA JUNIOR CUP
The opening round of the 2024 bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup will be held at Sydney Motorsport Park, with the FIM Oceania and Dorna Sports-supported academy continuing to provide a clear pathway for riders to progress to international categories such as the Asia Talent Cup and Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.

And in 2024 history has already been made with Jacob Roulstone, who was an OJC competitor in 2019 and is now a full-time world championship grand prix rider in the Moto3 class for KTM. And in more exciting news, the 2024 bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup now has Australian championship status as well.

With the little kids with big dreams strutting their talents alongside the best riders in Australia, all the riders will be aboard identical race-prepped Yamaha YZF-R15s.

Queenslander Hunter Corney will be one of the favourites in Sydney.

SUPERBIKE MASTERS
The big historic machines return in 2024 across three rounds of the ASBK Championship, starting at the ASBK Night Race.

Among the 25-strong entry list is Garry McCoy on a Yamaha TZ750, Alex Phillis on a Suzuki XR69, defending Superbike Masters champion Keo Watson on a Yamaha FZR1000, Ryan Taylor on a Suzuki Katana, Cory Glock on a Suzuki GSX-R750 and Robert Young on a Ducati 888.

All the machines are exquisitely prepared, so wander into the paddock – entry is free – to check them out and talk to the riders who have motorcycle racing history coursing through their bodies 24/7.