ASBK Championship going down to the wire at The Bend

After another electrifying year of competition, the 2024 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) concludes at The Bend in South Australia from November 8-10.

Following momentum shifts throughout the season, all six ASBK Championship classes – Pirelli Superbike, Michelin Supersport, Race and Road Supersport 300, ShopYamaha R3 Cup, bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup and Nolan Superbike Masters – are ‘live’ rubbers heading into The Bend, setting the scene for a nerve-wracking grand finale which will also include an international element thanks to the Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Asia-Pacific Championship.

In the premier Superbike class, it’s all boiled down to a box office battle between Josh Waters, Mike Jones and Broc Pearson for the 2024 championship, while defending champion Troy Herfoss is returning for a final round cameo and could play a defining ‘shape-shifting’ role in proceedings.

There will be three races apiece for the ASBK classes around the 4.95km circuit across the weekend, including the opening bouts on Saturday.

ASBK ticket holders to The Bend will also receive free entry into the Drag Bike Nationals, while there will also be kids’ amusement rides, live music, autograph sessions and pit-lane walks. ASBK pit entry is also free.

Tickets will be available at the gate.

Pirelli Superbike

It’s crunch time in Pirelli Superbike after 13 races, 152 laps and 524.132km of intense competition between the top riders in the country over six preceding rounds.

With a maximum of 76pts in the offing at The Bend – there’s a bonus point for pole position – 37pts separate the top three in the title chase, with Waters (McMartin Ducati) leading on 256.5 from Jones (Yamaha Racing Team, 229.5) and Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati, 219.5).

For Waters and Jones, the carrot is to become the first rider in the 35-year history of the Australian Superbike Championship to be crowned champion for a fourth time. The duo currently shares that honour with Herfoss, Shawn Giles, Wayne Maxwell and Glenn Allerton.

Herfoss will reunite with DesmoSport Ducati for the first time since round three at Queensland Raceway. Since then, he has added the popular ‘King of the Baggers’ title in America to his CV, and he returns to The Bend as the happiest of hunting grounds after a clean sweep and new lap record in 2023 on his way to a third Superbike title.

If Pearson can continue his stunning form on the second DesmoSport Ducati, Herfoss could be the perfect foil to allow his fellow Queenslander to keep the pressure on Waters and Jones.

Also wheeling out a Superbike in the 20-rider field is multiple Australian Supersport champion, Tom Toparis, who will make his debut in the class on a Stop and Seal Yamaha as well as making his return to racing after a bone-jarring highside at Morgan Park.

Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing Team), who is currently fourth in the standings, is a late withdrawal due to injury, which could see Penrite Racing Yamaha duo Max Stauffer and Cameron Dunker, Anthony West (Addicted to Track Yamaha) and Arthur Sissis (Stop and Seal Yamaha) all relegate him down the final order after the three 11-lap races.

Unfortunately, retiring veteran Bryan Staring (MotoGo Yamaha) won’t be able to enjoy a Superbike swansong at The Bend, joining Halliday in convalescence after injuries sustained at One Raceway.

Michelin Supersport

In Michelin Supersport, teenager Jonathan Nahlous (Yamaha) is in the box seat to claim his first Australian title in a season which has seen him fend off all challengers with a heady mix of race wins and brutal consistency.

He has a healthy 40pt buffer (238 to 198) over South Australian Olly Simpson, but then it’s tight back to Tom Bramich (195), Jake Farnsworth (193) and Archie McDonald (190) – all Yamaha mounted.

McDonald was clearly the fastest rider at One Raceway, but he then he crashed out of race one while holding a three-second lead. His teammate Jack Mahaffy (Yamaha) then won the race before McDonald won the second from Mahaffy and the rapidly improving Hayden Nelson (Kawasaki).

Simpson didn’t do his championship hopes any favours either when he crashed out of race two at One Raceway.

Race and Road Supersport 300/ShopYamaha R3 Cup

The rider in the box seat in the Race and Road Supersport 300 class is Josh Newman, who holds a 32pt lead over Valentino Knezovic (Yamaha), with Harrison Watts just 4pts adrift to make it two Kawasakis in the top three.

In the last two rounds, emerging stars have dominated the headlines. At Phillip Island it was Will Nassif (Yamaha), while at One Raceway it was Kawasaki pair Calvin Moylan and Casey Middleton. The trio sits in positions 5-7 behind Jordy Simpson (Yamaha) in fourth.

South Australian Tara Morrison (Kawasaki), who will represent FIM Oceania in the inaugural Intercontinental Games in late November, will be looking to push hard towards the front at The Bend, while making late-season cameos will be Cameron Swain (Yamaha) after a season in Europe competing in the bLU cRU r3 World Cup (which included a victory at Magny-Cours) and 2024 Asia Talent Cup riders Archie Schmidt (Kawasaki) and Rikki Henry (Yamaha).

Meanwhile, Knezovic leads the way in the ShopYamaha R3 Cup by 13pts from Nassif, who won all three races at One Raceway to leapfrog his way into equal second place alongside Simpson.

Mitch Simpson (Yamaha) makes a welcome return to both classes after recovering from injuries sustained when he competed in the ProMX round at Gillman earlier in the year.

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup

The hard-charging bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup (OJC) will continue their handlebar-to-handlebar battles, but with a 71pt lead Hunter Corney should wrap up his first national championship in race one.

OJC was on the support card at the recent Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, with Corney winning two races while Ethan Johnson took out the last leg. Johnson is second in the standings, ahead of Hunter Charlett.

Meanwhile, the OJC races will also include a simultaneous battle for national pride in the FIM Oceania Trans-Tasman Challenge. Five riders from both Australia and New Zealand will compete, and the nation with the most points on Sunday afternoon will be the inaugural FIM Oceania Trans-Tasman Challenge winner.

Nolan Superbike Masters

The Nolan Superbike Masters is always a major attraction for spectators.

This is the third and final round after the opener at Sydney Motorsport Park in March and the second instalment a couple of months ago at Phillip Island.

There are five classes in the category for machines from different eras and ages, with defending champion Keo Watson leading outright from fellow Yamaha rider Jack Passfield.

But that’s where it will end, with Watson sidelined with injury which opens the door for Passfield to cruise to the title. Alex Phillis (Suzuki) and Ryan Taylor (Suzuki) should be Passfield’s major opposition at The Bend.

More, from another press release issued by ASBK:

West points compass north as he begins ASBK finale in top spot

Anthony West kept his recent purple patch intact on day one of the 2024 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) finale at The Bend in South Australia.

The tireless veteran was fastest in Pirelli Superbike practice on his Addicted to Track Yamaha, finishing ahead of Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) and championship leader Josh Waters (McMartin Ducati).

The Superbike pilots, alongside all the other ASBK Championship classes – Michelin Supersport, Race and Road Supersport 300, ShopYamaha R3 Cup, bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup and Nolan Superbike Masters – treaded carefully on a wet circuit this morning before conditions eased and times started tumbling in the afternoon.

THE BEND ASBK RESULTS

Tomorrow the tempo goes up another notch with final qualifying and the opening races for all classes – including Superbike and Supersport, which both have extended three-race campaigns this weekend. The Saturday action will be broadcast live on SBS On Demand from 10:20am-5:40pm (ACDT).

ASBK ticket holders to The Bend will also receive free entry into the Drag Bike Nationals, while there will also be kids’ amusement rides, live music, autograph sessions and pitlane walks. ASBK pit entry is also free.

Tickets will be available at the gate.

Pirelli Superbike

Jones, Arthur Sissis (Stop and Seal Yamaha) and West were the fastest across the three Pirelli Superbike sessions, with the latter’s 1m50.850sec the benchmark – and not far in arrears of Troy Herfoss’ current lap record of 1:50.529.

The evergreen West is building up a serious head of steam at the tail end of the 2024 season, finishing second in race one at One Raceway’s penultimate before he went down as collateral damage in a race two bingle when he was circulating towards the front.

Meanwhile, Jones (1:51.102) and Waters (1:51.296) both kept their noses clean as they build towards the final championship shootout. Waters is 27pts ahead of Jones, with Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati) in third, 10pts behind Jones.

Pearson (1:52.464) was seventh on Friday, with Sissis (1:51.791) fourth from Max Stauffer (Penrite Racing Yamaha, 1:51.880) and a very impressive John Lytras (Yamaha, 1:52.058).

Defending Superbike champion Herfoss (DesmoSport Ducati) sat out the final practice session with a mechanical issue, but he still managed to complete the day in 10th (1:53.908) behind Cameron Dunker (Penrite Racing Yamaha, 1:52.823) and Ty Lynch (Unitech Racing Yamaha, 1:53.816).

Tom Toparis (1:53.978), making his Superbike debut on a Stop and Seal Yamaha, was 11th in the 20-rider field.

Michelin Supersport

In Michelin Supersport, last-start winner Archie McDonald was the fastest after three sessions – two for the majority of riders after a wet circuit saw only five out of 19 circulate in the opening 20-minute hit out.

McDonald came home strong, but it was tight with just one second between the Albury charger and sixth-placed Jack Mahaffy – all on Yamahas.

Jonathan Nahlous was second from Olly Simpson, Jack Favelle and Tom Bramich. Other than Mahaffy, all the riders can still win the championship, with Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha) the other.

The short odds are with Nahlous, though, who is 40pts in front of Simpson.

There will be two qualifying sessions tomorrow – where the top guns are expected to get near or eclipse Harrison Voight’s current lap record – before race one at 1:45pm.

Race and Road Supersport 300/ShopYamaha R3 Cup

The Race and Road Supersport 300 and ShopYamaha R3 Cup classes began qualifying this afternoon, and it was Cameron Swain (Yamaha) who dominated after a season of battle-hardened European competition in the R3 World Cup.

He ramped up the intensity in large chunks, with a second qualifying session on Saturday morning before the racing begins.

Combined across both classes, Swain from fastest from Jordan Simpson (Yamaha), Will Nassif (Yamaha), 2023 Oceania Junior Cup champion Archie Schmidt (Kawasaki), R3 Cup leader Valentino Knezovic (Yamaha) and Mitch Simpson (Yamaha) making a welcome return from injury.

Supersport 300 leader Josh Newman was seventh ahead of fellow Kawasaki rider Casey Middleton.

A so-far fruitful return to the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup category for New Zealander Haydn Fordyce, who finished third in the 2023 title.

Fordyce is competing in the OJC this weekend to help bolster New Zealand’s stocks in the corresponding FIM Oceania Trans-Tasman Challenge, but it’s also an outing for individual pride – and Fordyce was the pacesetter in practice from raging hot championship favourite Hunter Corney, Ethan Johnson, Rossi McAdam, Phoenix O’Brien and Hunter Charlett.

Fordyce is also competing in the final round of the 2024 Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Asia-Pacific Championship this weekend, where Corney and Johnson are wildcards.

The massive 21-rider OJC field is back for more on Saturday, which includes race one at 3:45pm.

Nolan Superbike Masters

Alex Phillis steamrolled the opposition, coming out all guns blazing on the Suzuki XR69. His best lap of 2:00.007 – a new qualifying record – was nearly a second ahead of South Aussie international David Johnson (Suzuki GSX-R1100), followed by Ryan Taylor (GSX-R1100) and John Allen (Yamaha TZ750).

Only one qualifying session for the Superbike Masters riders, so it’s down to business in race one at 11:35am on Saturday.

Jack Passfield (Yamaha FZR1000) is set to win the title in the absence of injured leader and defending champion Keo Watson.