Major rider moves and new restrictions for Ducati set the ASBK paddock simmering ahead of the Phillip Island opener
The 2026 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship opening round will be one of the most interesting in recent seasons, with a plethora of rider and technical changes to digest.
Current champ Josh Waters stays put with McMartin Racing, as expected, but his part-time teammate Harry Voight will now race in the paddock all season. Anthony West will be in red for Desmosport Ducati, Mike Jones gains JJ Nahlous as a teammate at YRT, and Olly Simpson will spice up Next Gen Supersport on a Desmosport Ducati V2.
The biggest change to get used to will be the transition to a Summer Series. The new season will begin as it traditionally does, alongside WSBK at Phillip Island over 20-22 February, and conclude at Queensland Raceway over 26-28 June.
Most teams tested at Phillip Island in late January, with several hanging around for more track time at the Victorian state titles the following week. Although lap times were not available, the reports have been very positive, with the only low points being crashes by Olly Simpson and Glenn Allerton.
In Supersport, the take up in NextGen is still somewhat disappointing, with most talk putting that down to the cost of building a bike – almost the price of a Superbike. We lose some young talent in 2026 – but we also have an incredible bunch of challengers. Marcus Hamod will be stepping up to Superbike with Jacob Roulstone on Honda machinery, along with the usual strong contingent of YRD-backed riders.
Entries officially closed on 2 February, so there may have been some last-minute announcements, but let’s take a look at what we know so far…
Vic State Titles and Harvey Wiltshire Trophy
Cam Dunker has proven his new home at Blue Marlin Pools East Racing is a comfortable one, the 18-year-old taking out the oldest perpetual trophy in Australian road bike racing – the Harvey Wiltshire Trophy.
The feature race was run over eight laps, and the Victorian State Titles round is considered the biggest pre-season ASBK form indicator. Dunker was fast all weekend on his R1, as was Superbike rookie Jacob Roulstone on the Motocity Honda Fireblade. Other standouts were Anthony West on the Desmosport Ducati, Josh Brookes on his DAO Honda (who will be heading back to the BSB) and also Marcus Hamod.
Hamod, who is also a Superbike rookie on the second Motocity Honda, lapped with the front runners and has shown he has made a quick adaptation to the larger machine. It would be worth noting John Lytras was the fastest qualifier before engine issues interrupted his races – so all in all, it seems the level has picked up from 2025. West and Dunker were expected to be quick, but rookies Roulstone and Hamod were impressive on their Fireblades.
In Supersport, Tom Edwards made a strong debut in green and picked up the Hughie Hoare feature race, pipping his BC Performance teammate Hayden Nelson. Will Nassif also impressed as he begins his second season in Supersport, as did class rookie Ghage Plowman.
World Women’s Circuit Racing rider Tayla Relph put in some solid training on her father’s R6 as she prepares for the upcoming season, finishing just behind the fastest group.
McMartin Racing makes a big change
Craig McMartin’s team have made one major change to their rider line-up but the faces remain the same. McMartin, who has said previously that he considers Josh Waters family, will aim for a third successive title with the Mildura local. The change is the increased presence of Harry Voight who, with the introduction of the Summer Series schedule, will be able to ride at every ASBK round and continue to ride in the World Junior Moto2 championship.
Waters remains the man to beat at Phillip Island, particularly at round one where he has soaked up the season-opening pressure to remain almost unstoppable the past three seasons. He was spotted spinning plenty of laps at the Phillip Island test and the five-time champion is well aware he has to make every lap count against younger rivals with the advantage of a heavier testing schedule.
McMartin and Waters have formed a formidable team alongside data technician Adrian Monte, who also returns in 2026. Joining them in the garage this year will be Jamie Stauffer, who will be crunching data for Voight.
West settles in at Desmosport
Anthony West has begun his transition to Ducati’s V4 R,
with Desmosport team principal Ben Henry very happy with recent testing at Phillip Island and the Vic State Titles. This is a make-or-break season for Desmosport, with their last title coming in 2019 with Mike Jones on the 1299 FE. The acquisition of West wasn’t exactly straightforward – with the 2025 race winner securing backing from Deon Coote’s Elite Roads to make the project happen.
Coote is no stranger to success, guiding Troy Herfoss to a title with Penrite Honda and also backing Max Stauffer and Dunker in 2024. West, who turns 45 in July, was one of the form riders in 2025 and, despite his age, the most common reaction when his switch to Desmosport was revealed was that of ‘title contender’.
Henry has also been fielding Senna Agius on track during the off-season, making big gains in developing their MoTeC-based V4 R. There is a renewed confidence in the team where the other big news is the signing of Olly Simpson to take up NextGen duties on the Panigale V2. Simpson knows that victory against the Stop and Seal V2 of Tom Toparis could mean a shot at riding the V4 R – so the stakes are high.
What’s happening at Stop and Seal?
There’s never a dull moment at Robbie Bolger and Claire Sharkey’s Stop and Seal Racing team, and Bolger has fired an early shot, declaring they ‘‘are not mucking around this year’’. Not mucking around refers to Superbike success. The team will run Cru Halliday on a Ducati V4 R again with technical oversight from McMartin Racing (yep, Craig McMartin will be busy this year!).
It’s fair to say the team had a stranglehold on Supersport last season, but with Jack Mahaffy and Archie McDonald departing, NextGen becomes the prime focus, headed up by Toparis with Ryan Yanko as teammate.
Support to younger riders is still there, with WA’s Lauchy Williams joining the fold on a Yamaha R6.
Bolger has often spoken about international wildcards for Toparis, but it remains to be seen what will be possible in 2026. Daytona? BSB? Road racing? There is stated interest in all three, but the goal is winning races on the V4 R.
Last season, the team also gave fans the treat of a Kyle Ryde cameo at The Bend. Well, Ryde’s Nitrous Competitions’ BSB team has just made the switch to Ducati… will we see him again at some point?
Allerton finds a new Advocate
Glenn Allerton and the Superbike Advocates team will be without the services of technician Jake Skate in 2026 as he heads back to the MotoAmerica paddock with BMW Motorrad.
The McMartin Racing team has stepped in to fill the technical void and have already been providing input at the recent St George Summer Night Series. McMartin told AMCN he has plenty of admiration for Allerton’s work ethic and desire, adding that his team was more than happy to help.
After taking his maiden Superbike victory on a Ducati at Queensland Raceway last year, will this new collaboration result in more wins for Allerton? Three-time ASBK champion Allerton, who will be 45 at the opening Island round, maintains an incredible level of fitness and has never wavered in finding a path to victory. It’s hard to see this team not mounting the top step again in 2026 at least once, and this year Allerton will be joined by his nephew, Josh Newman.
Newman, who won the 2024 Supersport 300 title, spent last season riding a Yamaha R6 in Supersport for the Addicted to Track team before stepping up to the Ducati V4 R prior to the Summer Night Series.
For those eagle-eyed fans who spotted a Superbike Advocates UK post that said an Aussie would be riding their Phillip Island wildcard entry, that doesn’t seem to be happening. Tommy Bridewell perhaps?
Nahlous officially welcomed to YRT
The rumours of JJ Nahlous switching to the factory-supported Yamaha Racing Team were confirmed recently, with the 2024 Supersport champion then spinning his first laps on the YRT bike at the recent Phillip Island test. Also testing there was 2022 champion Mike Jones, who was confirmed to continue with the factory squad late last year.
The ASBK direction for Nahlous could have gone several other ways. Honda was rumoured to be an option (and a good one, after his impressive results on the MotoCity Fireblade) and he also tested for Desmosport Ducati. With a burgeoning 2026 schedule that includes the Spanish Moto2 series, the YRT option won out.
While Jones and Nahlous will spearhead the factory effort, Cam Dunker will head up the Blue Marlin Pools East team, with Wayne Maxwell in his corner. Dunker, who will be joined by Luke Jones, is closely affiliated with Maxwell’s Ohvale commitments, and has used the smaller, track-focused bikes as an indispensable training tool the last couple of years.
Expect strong results from this team – they have the technical freedom with the R1 and a maturing Dunker, who spends almost every weekend of the year on some form of racetrack.
Addicted to Track sign Tamburini
Addicted to Track’s Mark McGregor was adamant that the shortened 2026 season would be one of development following the departure of Anthony West – but the return of Jack Favelle and the signing of 35-year-old Italian Roberto Tamburini means the box will be as busy as ever.
Now the number one rider in the team, Favelle will be looking to rebuild in 2026 after a serious knee and elbow injury at One Raceway ended his 2025 season prematurely. He had a strong hit-out at the Summer Night Series and said his body held up well as he looks to regain podium form.
Although Tamburini brings a wealth of Superbike experience (he’s ridden everything from WSBK to EWC, Supersport and 125GP), the Italian will ride an R6 in Supersport.
Tom Edwards back on the grid in green
After an ill-fated ASBK Superbike adventure with the Moto-School team last year, former World Supersport regular Tom Edwards is back for 2026 after securing a ride with the Kelvin Reilly-led BC Performance Kawasaki squad. Edwards will compete on a ZX-6R alongside the returning Hayden Nelson.
After the demise of the Moto-School ride, Edwards put himself in the shop window with several stand-out Supersport rides for Queensland-based BWR Racing. Nelson, on the other hand, was a standout in the second half of the season and eventually finished fourth in the standings behind teammate Olly Simpson. In what is perhaps a hint from the team for the future, Nelson has been campaigning a ZX-10R at the recent Summer Night Series.
No Mahaffy, no Bramich?
The big news in Supersport is that Jack Mahaffy, after winning the title last year, has departed Stop and Seal Racing and is without a ride for 2026. Mahaffy and Archie McDonald were the class of 2025, taking first and second place in the championship for Bolger’s outfit – but as AMCN goes to press, Mahaffy said he was aiming for a Superbike ride but options were very limited.
Mahaffy told AMCN he remained incredibly grateful to both Bolger and Claire for their support but added they just couldn’t work out a deal to make a Superbike ride work financially in 2026.
McDonald is, of course, off to race in the Bagger World Cup. Mahaffy, who is known in the paddock for his outstanding work ethic and attitude, remains optimistic that an opportunity will open up for the 2026/27 season.
Another top talent on the outer is Tom Bramich, who after finishing fifth in the Supersport standings last year was rumoured to be riding a Suzuki GSX-R 750 in 2026. That project didn’t get off the ground for the season opener but remains a possibility for 2026/27.
Speaking of other top talent on the sidelines – we have to mention Broc Pearson. More of a budget casualty at Desmosport Ducati than anything, Pearson showed glimpses of speed last season but didn’t quite capture the form of 2024 that took him to third place in the standings..
V4 R officially loses power
In the name of parity, ASBK management has decided that the Ducati V4 R will be limited to 15,500rpm this season, down 1000rpm in an effort to level the playing field against the Yamaha R1 M.
The performance imbalance is considered significant enough that their rev limit required a cut, but it’s still a curious decision considering Yamaha is still winning races with the R1.
Robbie Bolger is rumoured to have his legal team ready to strike, however both Craig McMartin and Ben Henry have said they can handle the reduction and that it won’t significantly affect performance.
What won’t happen this season is the introduction of the current model V4 R – so we get to see the single-sided swingarm for another six months at least!
I’d be curious to know what our readers think about this latest ‘performance balancing’ – should Ducati be forced to slow down their V4 R so others can win? Or should it be up to Yamaha to build a faster R1 M? Let us know your thoughts on Facebook or via AMCN’s access pages.
