Waters sizzles from start to finish in 2025 ASBK Championship opener

Josh Waters has made light work of his opposition with a brilliant clean sweep in round one of the 2025 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) at Phillip Island.

Waters won all three races in the SW-MOTECH Superbike class, with two of them coming on Sunday as he completed a flawless season opener on the McMartin Racing Ducati.

Waters’ fellow hard-nosed veterans Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) and Anthony West (Addicted to Track Yamaha) were second and third overall in round one, while Archie McDonald (Stop and Seal Yamaha) and Scott Nicholson (Kawasaki) were the leading point-scorers in the Kawasaki Supersport and Race and Road Supersport 300 classes after three days of scintillating high-speed action.

“I could not be happier with how this weekend has gone, although it certainly wasn’t as easy as it looked,” said Waters. “But I was super happy with how my McMartin Ducati performed, and this result has certainly put down a very solid foundation for the 2025 season. Racing is still a huge passion for me, and I enjoy competing – and celebrating success – with family and friends.”

PHILLIP ISLAND ASBK RESULTS: https://www.computime.com.au/Web%20Services/Computime%20-%20WebServer%20Meetings/Resultspage?MeetID=17378

The ASBK Championship opener was held in conjunction with the FIM Superbike World Championship, providing local fans the chance to cheer on Aussies Remy Gardner, Luke Power, Oli Bayliss and Harrison Voight in the international categories under brilliant Phillip Island sunshine.

Round two of the 2025 ASBK Championship will be held under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park on March 28-29, with the Superbike Masters and bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup categories also joining the fray for the first time this season.

SW-MOTECH Superbike

Josh Waters’ 17th and 18th SW-MOTECH Superbike victories at Phillip were achieved with brutal efficiency, as he sling-shotted off the line on both occasions and then immediately knuckled down to building unassailable leads.

Waters’ three wins and a pole position saw him bank a maximum 76pts (there’s a bonus point for pole position) in round one, from Mike Jones (58), Anthony West (56), Max Stauffer (Yamaha Racing Team 43) and John Lytras (Yamaha).

In race two, Waters was again in runaway mode, but this time Jones turned the tables on West as Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati) edged out race one faller Cameron Dunker (MotoGo Yamaha) in a gripping battle for fourth. Glenn Allerton (Superbike Advocates Racing Ducati), Stauffer and Cru Halliday (Stop and Seal Yamaha) completed the top eight.

It only took about 10 seconds into race three for the first flashpoint, with Pearson – who came home with a wet sail in race two – going down at turn one after being clipped and forced wide. Halliday (flat tire) and Allerton (mechanical) also failed to finish race three, leaving Waters, Jones and West to be followed home in the 11-lapper by the fast-starting Dunker, Jonathan Nahlous (Yamaha), Lytras, Stauffer and Ryan Yanko (Addicted to Track Yamaha).

Kawasaki Supersport

In a sometimes wild and woolly Kawasaki Supersport finale, Jack Mahaffy snapped Stop and Seal Yamaha teammate Archie McDonald’s two-race winning streak to bring up his third win in the category.

The start of the race saw Olly Simpson (BCperformance Kawasaki), Mahaffy, McDonald and Tom Bramich (Yamaha) constantly swap positions, and on lap seven Mahaffy and McDonald nearly collided at turn four.

That was the trigger point to take a deep breath and, with Simpson soon losing the tow, it boiled down to a race of three.

Bramich then cooked his goose on the final lap, crashing three corners from home, with a delighted Hayden Nelson (BCperformance Kawasaki) filling the void. Meanwhile, Mahaffy held off McDonald to win by 0.619 seconds, with both riders on the limit as they set their fastest laps on the final lap. Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha) and Simpson were fourth and fifth, followed by Declan van Rosmalen (Yamaha) and rookies Cameron Swain (Yamaha) and Will Nassif (Yamaha).

McDonald (71pts) takes the championship lead into round two at Sydney Motorsport Park, followed by Mahaffy (65), Simpson (51), Farnsworth (46) and Van Rosmalen (43).
Archie McDonald enjoys the Supersport spoils

Race and Road Supersport 300

Sam Drane’s already a junior dirt track star, and now he’s a Race and Road Supersport 300 winner! The 14-year-old – yes, you read correctly – won another extraordinarily tight battle in Sunday’s third and final race on his Yamaha to make it three different winners across the round. Again, the race came down to precious millimeters as 18 riders flashed across the finish line 2.2 seconds apart.

After being in the mix in the first two races without quite getting the job done, this time Drane wouldn’t be denied as he inched his way to the front on the second last lap and then kept down the shutters.

Scott Nicholson (Kawasaki) was second from 15-year-old Hudson Thompson, followed by Jordy Simpson (Yamaha), Tara Morrison (Kawasaki) and Valentino Knezovic (Yamaha).

Simpson (2-3-4) was the overall round winner from Nicholson (3-3-2), who defeated Morrison (1-6-5) on a countback after they both finished on the same points. Thompson (5-2-3) and Drane (8-8-1) saw out the top five.