Waters masters Phillip Island with ASBK Superbike pole
Josh Waters’ affinity with the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit continued today with the hard-charger securing a hard-fought pole position for round five of the 2024 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK).
On a thrilling day one of the Victorian Government-backed round at the majestic 4.448km circuit, Waters and his Ducati again proved to be an irrepressible combination as the Victorian locked in his 15th career pole position in the AMA Warehouse Superbike class.
The remaining ASBK classes at Phillip Island – Michelin Supersport, Race and Road Supersport 300 and Nolan Superbike Masters – also hit the track today, as well as the fast-twitch Aussie Racing Cars.
With all the practice and qualifying preliminaries now over, Sunday will feature races from go-to-whoa, starting at 9:55am and finishing at 4:30pm.
Spectators receive free entry into the ASBK paddock at Phillip Island and, in addition to the 11 races on the Sunday schedule, there will be a pit walk and autograph signing session, the ASBK Trade Alley to check out the latest and greatest from the motorcycle industry, ‘Mini Moto Come and Try’ sessions for kids, and some lucky people enjoying white-knuckle pillion rides behind former ASBK Superbike champions Troy Corser and Steve Martin.
To purchase tickets for Phillip Island, click here. Tickets will also be available at the gate.
AMA Warehouse Superbike
Waters (McMartin Racing Ducati) always seems to find a way at Phillip Island, and today it was as much about grit as raw speed after he inched his way to the top of the timesheets in the AMA Warehouse Superbike final qualifying session.
In windy conditions which provided a challenge for the Superbike brigade, five riders led the 15-minute outing at different times – Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) the first to lay down a marker – before Waters (1:31.126) finally wrested control with only two minutes remaining.
That was the last real moment of significance, with Waters securing the early weekend spoils ahead of Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing Team, 1:31.206), lap record holder Harrison Voight (McMartin Racing Ducati, 1:31.412), Arthur Sissis (Stop and Seal Yamaha, 1:31.458), Jones (1:31.541) – currently on a four-race winning streak – and GT Racing BMW veteran Glenn Allerton (1:31.806).
“I’m really happy with my performance today,” said Waters. “It’s important to be on the front row given the field and what I’m up against.
“The wind was actually really challenging today, but it was the same for everyone. I will try my hardest tomorrow and see what I can do.”
Bryan Staring (MotoGo Yamaha, 1:31.840), Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati, 1:31.906) and Max Stauffer (Penrite Racing Yamaha, 1:31.956) were the other riders to dip into the 31-second bracket, with Anthony West (Addicted to Track Yamaha, 1:32.062), Cameron Dunker (Penrite Racing Yamaha, 1:32.192) and Matt Walters (Kawasaki) completing the top 12.
Tomorrow’s two 11-lap races will be held at 11:00am and 2:35pm, with intrigue aplenty as the ASBK superstars go into battle.
Michelin Supersport
South Australian Olly Simpson (Yamaha) secured the bonus point for pole position in the Michelin Supersport class, with his last-gasp flying lap of 1:35.187 enough to annex top spot from Jonathan Nahlous (Yamaha) – who had only one-minute earlier performed the same displacement act on long-time leader Archie McDonald (Yamaha)!
It was Simpson’s first pole position in 2024 en route to a new Supersport qualifying record around Phillip Island – although the race lap record is still owned by Nahlous.
Nahlous (1:35.205) and McDonald (1:35.346) – who chose to sit out the second qualifying session to keep his body and bike fresh for Sunday’s two races – will join Simpson at the pointy end of the grid, with Honda’s Mark Chiodo (1:35.465) the first non-Yamaha rider in fourth from Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha, 1:35.516) and Jack Mahaffy (Yamaha, 1:35.675).
Tom Bramich (Yamaha) – who’s involved in a tight battle for second in the championship with McDonald, Simpson and Farnsworth – qualified in eighth, one spot behind Jack Favelle (Yamaha) and in front of Hayden Nelson (Kawasaki) and Hunter Ford (Yamaha).
Race and Road Supersport 300
Sixteen-year-old Wil Nassif (Yamaha) soared to his first pole position in the Race and Road Superport 300 class, nearly half a second ahead of Jordy Simpson (Yamaha).
It marked a massive 12-spot upward trajectory for Nassif from his qualifying position at Phillip Island’s round one in February, as he now looks to become the sixth rider to win a race in the 2024 championship.
Alongside Nassif and Simpson on the front row for tomorrow’s three seven-lap races will be Josh Newman (Kawasaki), followed by Valentino Knezovic (Yamaha), round one race winner Harrison Watts (Kawasaki) and Oliver Short (Kawasaki) in grid positions 4-6.
Newman currently leads the standings by 1pt ahead of Knezovic, followed by Watts, Simpson and Nassif.
Race one is at 9:55am on Sunday for the 23-rider field.
Nolan Superbike Masters
As expected, defending champion Keo Watson and main rival Jack Passfield quickly set about turning the opening Nolan Superbike Masters race into a battle of their Yamaha FZRs, with the former just getting the win by a scant 0.116 seconds after five pulsating laps.
The pair is now deadlocked on 90pts apiece in the title, ahead of another FZR pilot Dean Oughtred (65pts) who was third in race one after an arm wrestle against Suzuki GSX-R1100 riders Murray Clark and Ryan Taylor.
Races two and three will be held for the massive Superbike Masters field tomorrow.
