2025

Support classes put on a spectacular show in ASBK Sydney Night Race

By MA Media 0

It was a jam-packed race schedule at round two of the 2025 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) in Sydney on March 28-29, with the SW-Motech Superbike class joined by the Kawasaki Supersport, Race and Road Supersport 300, ShopYamaha R3 Cup, Superbike Masters and BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup riders.

Waters was untouchable in the Superbike class as he set Sydney Motorsport Park alight, but let’s take a look at what transpired elsewhere.

ASBK SYDNEY RESULTS

Round two of the Australian Superbike Championship is proudly supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.

Kawasaki Supersport
The combined winning margins in the two Kawasaki Supersport races was a wafer-thin 0.041secs, delivered in two very different circumstances.

Jack Mahaffy (Stop and Seal Yamaha) was front and centre in both flurries to the finish line. In the first 11-lapper, he just held out the fast-finishing duo of rookie Will Nassif (Yamaha) and Marcus Hamod (Honda), and in the second Mahaffy’s teammate Archie McDonald pipped him at the post.

Race one was held on a drying 3.93km circuit after heavy rain on Friday night and into Saturday morning, with some riders opting for full wets and others slicks.

Mahaffy, McDonald and Olly Simpson (BCperformance Kawasaki) were among those to take the wets route – a decision which left McDonald well back in an un uncharacteristic ninth, while Mahaffy chose to “burn the wets and see what happens.”

After shaking off a pesky Simpson, it looked like Mahaffy would cruise to victory before Nassif and Hamod – both on slicks – began slicing through the pack late in the piece as the circuit continued to dry.

The duo easily dispensed with a fading Simpson and were on Mahaffy’s tail coming onto the straight for the last time. In a photo finish, the trio was separated by 0.014secs, with Nassif second from Hamod, Simpson and Jesus Torres Cabrera (Yamaha).

Hamod (#13) and Nassif during their race one Kawasaki Supersport charge

In race two, without Nassif who had issues with his rear wheel and Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha) who crashed on the warm-up lap, normal service was resumed as Mahaffy and McDonald cleared off to make it another intra-team arm wrestle.

Mahaffy did most of the bullocking work only for McDonald to get him on the finish line, with Torres Cabrera third in his first Supersport podium ahead of Hayden Nelson (BCperformance Kawasaki), Simpson and Levi Russo (Yamaha).

Mahaffy (#37) and McDonald cleared out from the pack in Kawasaki Supersport race two

Mahaffy (1-2) was the overall round winner, ahead of McDonald (9-1) and Cabrera (3-5). Mahaffy now leads the championship by 1pt (110 to 109) over McDonald, followed by Simpson (84), Nelson (65) and Hamod (62).

Torres Cabrera produced a brilliant race two to score his first Supersport podium

Race and Road Supersport 300 and ShopYamaha R3 Cup
Three different winners at Sydney Motorsport Park – Yamaha trio Valentino Knezovic, 15-year-old Hudson Thompson and new championship leader Scott Nicholson – with the first race held in wet conditions on Friday night.

Oddly, the damp outing was the tamest of the lot – and the shortened race three very much the opposite after Knezovic and Jordy Simpson (Yamaha) went down in the early stages, with Riley Nauta (Kawasaki) spearing off the circuit to take evasive action. The race was already without Thompson, who had two crashes (the second a heavy one) in the preceding ShopYamaha R3 Cup race.

Eventually, a sense of calm prevailed – as much as possible in such a frantic class! – and Nicholson won the five-lapper from Jake Paige (Kawasaki) and Mitch Simpson (Yamaha).

Colour palette: Mitch Simpson (#66), Jake Paige (#55) and Scott Nicholson in Race and Road Supersport 300 battle

Nicholson (7-3-1) was the overall winner from Mitch Simpson (4-4-3) and Thompson (2-1-DNS), and Nicholson leads the championship on 113pts from Thompson (98), Tara Morrison (Kawasaki, 98) and round one pacesetter Jordy Simpson (96).

Meanwhile, there were two races to kick off the four-round 2025 ShopYamaha R3 Cup, and it was a Simpson benefit as siblings Mitch and Jordy went 1-2 in both, with John Pelgrave and Oscar Lewis securing the third places.

It was a rollercoaster Sydney outing for Hudson Thompson

Superbike Masters
A modest field of Period 5 and Period 6 machines ventured to Sydney Motorsport Park, with ex-Superbike star Beau Beaton making light work of the field as he won all three races to claim the overall honours from defending champion Ryan Taylor (Suzuki GSX-R1100, 6-3-3) and Michael Berti Mendez (Ducati TT2 992, 4-4-4).

Taylor had machine issues on Friday, but was able to regroup for Saturday’s two races.