Phillip Island ASBK round to honour motorcycle racing history
There’s going to be a sensational showcase of both the old and new when round six of the 2023 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK), presented by Motul, is held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit from October 27-29.
The penultimate round of the ASBK Championship will not only feature the regular classes – Alpinestars Superbike, Michelin Supersport, Supersport 300, Yamaha Finance R3 Cup and the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup – but the popular 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.
In addition, the on-track action – three five-lap races – will be supported by a massive static display of road racing machines that were stalwarts of local and international competition from the 1970s through to the 1990s.
And some of the exotica will even hit the racetrack for parade laps on Saturday and Sunday, under the reins of riders like multiple Aussie Superbike champion Malcolm Campbell and his fellow Tasmanian road racing star, Scott Stephens.
Campbell will ride a Honda RC30 – the model that steered him to his Aussie titles in 1989-1990 – and RC45 in the parade laps, while Stephens will be aboard his original Kawasaki Z1000 superbike.
Other models in the parade laps will include the Yamaha TZ350 and booming Yamaha TZ750, the Suzuki GSX-R1100, Yamaha FZR750R, Honda RS1000 and the ex-Rob Phillis Kawasaki ZXR750R world superbike machine. Road-spec models such as the exotic Bimota SB6R and Ducati 999 will also join the parade sessions.
The level of intensity will then ratchet up for the Superbike Masters races, 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.
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, with the latter also holding a tight grip on the overall standings after his clean sweep at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Motorcycling Australia CEO Peter Doyle is looking forward to the classic flavour of Phillip Island.
“It’s great to see the Superbike Masters riders back in action, some of whom have been mainstays of Aussie road racing for decades,” he said. “They are still competitive, too, so I certainly won’t be expecting timid affairs: it’ll be hard and fast racing from the get-go!
“And a big thank you to Superbike Masters coordinator Darren Lark, who has worked tirelessly to put together the static display of motorcycle racing royalty.”
Tickets are on sale for Phillip Island by clicking HERE.
For more information on the 2023 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul, stay tuned to the ASBK website and social pages:
• ASBK on Facebook
• ASBK on Instagram
