ASBK Team reports from Sydney Motorsport Park

ASBK 2025

Spherical Two – Sydney Motorsport Park
Staff Experiences (as equipped)

Onyabike KW Civil McMartin Racing

Josh Waters and the Onyabike KW Civil McMartin Racing with Okay-Tech Staff dominated the 2 races at Sydney Motorsport Park for spherical two of the ASBK Championship held over two days of night time racing 28-29 March to stay undefeated in 2025.

This distinctive spherical, held over a Friday and Saturday and that includes qualifying and racing below lights obtained underway with the specter of rain casting a shadow over the assembly. As per a traditional weekend the apply classes obtained underway on Friday, these had been held in dry situations, however for this spherical qualifying would additionally happen below lights on Friday night time.

Josh and the Onyabike KW Civil McMartin Racing with Okay-Tech staff made positive of a delivery within the essential Q2 session by laying down the second quickest lap in Q1, solely .064 off the highest of the timesheets. Sadly, gentle rain began to fall in the course of the brief Q2 session catching a number of groups out as monitor situation deteriorated shortly that means Josh must launch the Ducati Panigale V4 from the third row of the grid for each of Saturday’s races.

Fully unfazed, Josh obtained an unbelievable launch from seventh on the grid because the lights went out and blasted the Ducati Panigale V4R across the exterior to steer the sector via the final a part of flip one and that was about as shut as anybody obtained.

An ideal begin was adopted by an ideal first lap opening a buffer of .637 over the pursuing pack led by Mike Jones. Jones was capable of pull that again to .366 by the completion of lap three however the quickest lap of the race on lap 4 by Waters opened the hole again to over .6 and Josh merely rode an ideal race from there on to take the chequered flag with a cushty margin over Jones.

Race two below lights on a superbly dry monitor was virtually a carbon copy though Josh needed to work slightly more durable within the early phases of the opening lap to say his domination on the Onyabike KW Civil McMartin Racing with Okay-Tech Ducati V4R.

A flawless ultimate two sectors on that first lap opened a niche of .8 over a tightly grouped pack permitting the four-time ASBK Champion to make his escape leading to a niche of over two seconds by the completion of lap two. From that time on Josh maintained unbelievable consistency to cross the road with a cushty buffer over the battle for second.

Two wins from two begins sees Josh lengthen his championship lead over Jones by an additional 9 factors as Josh Waters and the Onyabike KW Civil McMartin Racing with Okay Tech head to the subsequent spherical at Queensland Raceway with a twenty-seven-point lead.

Josh Waters

“What a weekend; on Friday I used to be caught out with the climate and certified again on the third row in seventh place. I used to be disillusioned as we had achieved such job within the free apply classes being quickest general. However to get two race wins and the general spherical victory I used to be actually blissful about. Two stable race begins helped us pave the best way for back-to-back race wins from seventh on the grid at Sydney Motorsport Park for spherical two. As all the time, an enormous thanks to my staff who work so arduous and all of our sponsors.”

Craig McMartin – Staff Proprietor

“I’m very proud of the weekend general. As all the time, the staff did a sensational job all weekend, particularly with some tough situations. To be trustworthy the one draw back of the complete weekend was that we didn’t get qualifying fairly proper however that didn’t find yourself being an issue as Josh’s begins had been wonderful in each races and the best way he fought to get to the lead so shortly was extraordinarily spectacular. Thanks once more to all our sponsors and particularly Onyabike adventures, KW Civil and Pirelli tyres.”

Yamaha Racing Staff

Yamaha Racing Groups’ Mike Jones charged to a second-place end at spherical two and regardless of a bleak climate forecast, race situations had been dry for each legs of the Superbike class.

Jones began off the weekend properly, placing his YZF- R1M on pole place in a loopy qualifying session. Riders exploded onto the monitor to get a lap in as gentle mist started to fall from the sky late on Friday night time. Jones lodged time and returned to the storage with each intention of heading again out if the climate held off.

However the mist continued and situations, whereas not moist, definitely weren’t conducive to producing quick laps and Jones took pole in a confidence booster for the three-time champ.

The monitor dealt with the in a single day rain properly and when it stopped round 3pm on Saturday, the Superbike class had all however a dry monitor for his or her first race at 5pm. Jones launched from the grid and was in a robust place heading into the primary flip, however his cautious approached allowed a few riders to comb across the exterior of him.

Inside two laps, he moved his manner again into second and set off after race chief and championship rival Josh Waters. Jones started to reel him in and on the midway level, about one second separated the pair, with Jones edging slightly nearer with each lap.

However Waters responded to the Jones problem and poured on the tempo to carry Jones at bay, successful by a few seconds over Jones and the duo had been over ten seconds forward of third.

Now below the quilt of darkness and the complete impact of the lights, race two obtained off the grid at 9pm and the opening laps had loads of depth. Jones slipped again to fourth within the chaos however stayed calm and composed. He picked off the riders forward and moved into second however the hole between himself and Waters had already blown out to some seconds.

Jones consolidated his second place, however within the later phases, he got here below assault from former teammate, Cru Halliday. The pair swapped positions a number of occasions in a frantic ultimate few laps and all of it got here right down to a drag race to the end that noticed Jones snare second place by a mud cap over Halliday.

Mike Jones

“All up it was a fairly good weekend for me to complete with pole and two second place outcomes,” Jones expresses. “I wish to win each race however felt I raced properly and did the perfect I might, so I go away right here in fine condition and searching ahead to the subsequent few rounds that are in Queensland. It was good the climate held off and we obtained two dry races as properly. That’s the primary time that has occurred at this spherical, however the staff had been on their toes all weekend and prepared for something so because of them for an enormous effort over the weekend.”

Max Stauffer is now fifth within the championship after two rounds after a constant weekend of racing at SMSP. Stauffer, nonetheless coming again to 100% health in addition to adjusting to the YRT bike completed with two high 10 outcomes on the weekend and simply off the tempo he wished to set.

Max Stauffer

“There’s a fairly tight pack from third via to twelfth and all it takes it a to be a bit off to slip down these positions. I’m not the place I wish to be or anticipate to be, however I’ll preserve working arduous and we now have some take a look at days coming which I’m trying ahead to and suppose will permit me to maneuver ahead in that pack. I’m fifth within the factors, so it’s not too unhealthy of a begin, however I believe there’s loads of room for enchancment and with extra work, I’m positive I generally is a lot nearer to the entrance.”

DesmoSport Ducati

The DesmoSport Ducati crew handled altering situations for Broc Pearson to return away with a entrance row begin (P3) and two seventh place finishes within the two 13-lap races.

Returning to Dice Efficiency Centre on the Gold Coast, DesmoSport Ducati is about to go testing over the subsequent few weeks forward of three Queensland-based races in a row, with Queensland Raceway.

Broc Pearson

“I used to be assured heading into the weekend that we had all of the instruments to place in consequence right here in Sydney. Though we didn’t present the tempo I anticipated, we had been working via the bike setup in every session to finish up qualifying on the entrance row on Friday night time. I had an opportunity to strive the brand new ECU within the moist, which gave me some extra confidence after warm-up however the actuality was our dry setting was a motorbike that was harder to experience than what I had at Phillip Island, and so it was troublesome to take care of the monitor place I had off the beginning in each races. The staff and I are working arduous, and I’m trying ahead to attending to Queensland Raceway subsequent month the place we are able to put some extra laps in.”

Ben Henry – DesmoSport Ducati Staff Proprietor

“The 2-day Sydney spherical is all the time an thrilling one, with good crowds, lots of our crew and sponsors spending time within the field with us, and there’s one thing cool about racing below lights. eighth general isn’t the consequence I anticipated this weekend although. Each our bike and Broc are able to a lot greater than that. We’ve debriefed as a staff already and have pinpointed some space’s to enhance earlier than we get to the subsequent spherical so we are able to regain the sensation Broc had on the bike at Phillip Island. In hindsight, our dry setup moved too far in a path that, though allowed Broc to muscle the bike to qualify third, wasn’t sustainable for him to race on the required tempo. The excellent news is, he obtained nice begins that we had been lacking at spherical one! We’ll head into testing at Queensland Raceway with some recent views and look to get Broc again on high.”

Motoschool Racing Staff

The Motoschool Racing Staff have capped off an eventful house spherical at Sydney Motorsport Park with the spotlight being podiums from Connor and Oscar Lewis plus constructive steps taken by Superbike rider Tom Edwards, who completed his two races in thirteenth and eleventh respectively.

Edwards, who was utilizing the race spec YEC ECU this weekend for the primary time, certified in sixteenth earlier than taking a preventing thirteenth within the opening race held on a drying monitor. The rain held off for second race later within the night with the general tempo being sooner, this time Edwards introduced house the Motoschool R1 in eleventh.

The staff now shift their focus to testing for the 2 upcoming rounds at Queensland Raceway and Morgan Park.

Haydan Parker – Motoschool Racing Staff Proprietor

“That was such a dramatic weekend! There have been some essential steps ahead from Tommy on the Superbike by way of consistency and race tempo, which was very encouraging. We had put some arduous work in to organize his R1 to run the YEC ECU, and to have it carry out with none troubles was very encouraging. We additionally made some sturdy progress with creating the Dunlop tyres and sit up for testing them additional in Queensland. Connor made an unbelievable debut within the Oceania Junior Cup, he’s a really decided competitor and to hit the rostrum and end second within the factors is implausible. Elijah and Oscar undoubtedly noticed the highs and lows of racing this weekend with some mechanical points on Friday inflicting them to overlook a number of classes every, however the staff labored arduous to get the bikes again on monitor. This in the end noticed Oscar safe his first podium from final on the grid, which was an ideal second. Due to all of the followers and supporters who confirmed up over the weekend, the environment was electrical for the pit stroll on Saturday! Now we put together with a testing schedule for Queensland Raceway and Morgan Park, a busy month earlier than the subsequent spherical in Could.”

Hooked on Monitor Staff Report

Regardless of the unpredictable climate that Sydney throws at us 12 months after 12 months, Spherical 2 for staff Hooked on Monitor was a showcase of the arduous work we now have achieved over the Summer season months as a cohesive unit.

#33 Jack Favelle ripped into SMSP from Friday FP1, dropping a second in each apply session and stepping into the low 1.30’s. He credited the staff for offering an ideal bike setup, which allowed him to totally capitalise on the intensive coaching accomplished within the low season with the St. George MCC Summer season Evening Collection. Qualifying in P4 gave Jack the boldness to sort out Saturday’s races head-on, and he wrapped up the weekend together with his greatest ASBK Superbike efficiency but, ending P5 general.

#13 Ant West, coming off a robust Spherical 1, confirmed stable tempo all weekend however discovered it difficult to interrupt via the sector within the tough wet-to-dry monitor situations. With much less hours at SMSP below his belt than a few of his native counterparts, navigating the ever-changing situations proved troublesome. Nevertheless, a completely dry Superbike Race 2 gave him the boldness to seek out his excellent strains, securing a P5 end from a P9 begin and lifting him to P6 general for the weekend.

#82 Ryan Yanko admitted to creating a number of “foolish errors” that stored his weekend from being as good because it ought to have been. Regardless of that, he felt sturdy from the beginning, shortly dropping into the 1:31s throughout free apply. A minor low-side at Flip 6 on the ultimate lap of Superbike Race 2 was the principle setback in an in any other case implausible weekend of racing. Nonetheless, he was extraordinarily blissful together with his efficiency and credited the staff for a superbly ready bike, which gave him the boldness to construct momentum for the remainder of the season.

#37 Michael Edwards confronted a disappointing weekend, with issues not going to plan in Superbike Race 1 and in the end sitting out of Race 2, citing a well being difficulty. Decided as ever to compete slightly than simply take part, he pushed via however wasn’t bodily able to persevering with. Regardless of the setback, he’s targeted on transferring ahead and appears ahead to coming again stronger at QR.

#17 Josh Newman demonstrated sturdy tempo on the R6 early within the weekend, setting a brand new private better of 1:34.989 in qualifying to safe P12 on the grid. Race 1 noticed him battle via the pack, making key passes and operating as excessive as P7 earlier than an unlucky tangle at Flip 6 with one other rider dismantled his progress. In Race 2, he was on monitor for a robust consequence, operating inside the highest 10 earlier than a mechanical difficulty on the ultimate lap pressured him to retire. Regardless of the outcomes, Josh cites loads of constructive takeaways from this spherical and is keen to proceed his development on the R6 in Queensland.

For #83 Alvin Wu, it was a weekend of studying and enchancment on the R3. After a crash in Supersport 300 qualifying, he recovered properly in Race 1, working his manner as much as P23 from the rear of the sector. Though he had a combined outcomes throughout the weekend, Alvin pushed arduous proper right down to the wire, as he all the time does, to attain his greatest performances of the weekend, making it as much as P22 within the ultimate SS300 race, and incomes his quickest time of the weekend in R3 Cup Race 2. He completed within the factors in each classes, giving him a stable basis to work from after we race at house in a number of weeks time.

Now we have quite a bit to be blissful about, and are excited to maintain up the momentum in entrance of a house viewers in Spherical 3.

Superbike Championship Standings

2025 Australian Superbike Championship Calendar

Spherical	Location	Date
1	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC	Feb 21-23
2	Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW	Mar 28-29
3	Queensland Raceway, QLD	Could 2-4
4	Morgan Park Raceway, QLD	Jun 13-15
5	Queensland Raceway, QLD (Superbike Solely)	Aug 8-10
6	Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC	Sept 6-7
7	One Raceway, NSW	Oct 3-5
8	The Bend, SA	Nov 7-9