Voight dominates ASBK Morgan Park Race 1

McMartin Racing goes one-two as Jones returns to the podium

Harrison Voight delivered a commanding win in Race 1 of the Australian Superbike Championship at Morgan Park, converting pole position into a clear victory after breaking away in the opening laps and controlling the race to the flag. Teammate Josh Waters finished second to complete a McMartin Racing one-two, while Mike Jones returned to the podium with third for Yamaha.

Morgan Park’s tight, bumpy layout promised a very different contest to the opening rounds of the season, with tyre life and changing wind conditions expected to play a major role. But while strategy remained a factor, Voight quickly took control.

He made a clean start from pole and led into Turn 1, with Waters, Jones and Jack Favelle all settling in behind. Voight immediately pushed hard, using the opening laps to build a margin over Waters while Jones held third and kept the leaders in sight. By lap three, Voight had set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:12.828, and was the only rider consistently in the 1:12s.

From there, the Queenslander steadily stretched the gap. Waters rode a measured race to secure second at a circuit that has not always suited him, while Jones held on to third despite fading from the Ducati pair in the second half. It was still an important result for the Yamaha rider, marking his first podium of the season.

Favelle impressed with a strong ride to fourth after showing speed all weekend, while Cameron Dunker recovered from a mid-race mistake to fight back to fifth in the race’s most entertaining battle. Glenn Allerton finished sixth ahead of Cru Halliday, John Lytras, Jonathan Nahlous and Olly Simpson, who completed the top ten in only his second Superbike outing.

Further back, Ty Lynch was 11th, Luca Durning 12th and Joshua Newman 13th.

Tyre choice had been a key talking point before the race, with some riders taking softer rear options and others backing the harder SC1. In the end, the harder choice again looked effective, particularly for the lead Ducati riders who maintained their pace across the full 16 laps.

At the front, though, the race belonged to Voight. He was fast and aggressive but completely in control, taking the win by 4.394 seconds over Waters, with Jones 11.539 seconds behind in third. Barring changeable weather conditions, it would be a brave soul who bets against Voight for race 2.

Harrison Voight: “I was quite confident going into the race, although quite nervous. The nerves have got the best of me the past few rounds because I want to do so well and give back to the team. Jamie, Doug, Luke, everyone in my corner, they uplift me when I’m down. It’s all good when you’re on a high, but it’s the tougher times that can be harder. So big credit to them. Without them, none of this would be possible. They helped me unlock my talents. All in all, fantastic race. Just got to back it up again for the second race. A little bit. It was hard to say what it was going to be like towards the end of the race because it’s so tight around here, I don’t really get a chance to look at my lap times, but each time I had a quick glance they were quite consistent. There’s always something you can do better, me or the bike. We will probably change the bike a little bit, also depending on the weather conditions and if we change the tyre or not.”

Josh Waters: “Another podium. Big thanks to my team. Harry rode fantastic. This track is a unique little one. I wish I’d come up and ridden here, but I didn’t, so no point getting the violin out. I’ll go back with the team and try to come out stronger in the next one. Some rider changes and stuff. I’m old enough to realise that I need to improve also. The team on my side are awesome, so big thanks. And big thanks to all my personal sponsors and all the team sponsors also.”

Mike Jones: “That’s a bit surprising, isn’t it? A bit unusual. But it’s good to be back on the podium. That was definitely a tough race. Congratulations to Harry and Josh and their team. They did a fantastic job to maintain the pace all the way to the end, so it made it really difficult. I tried to hang in there for the first half, but struggled towards the end. We’ll sit down and try to work on some things for race 2, but at least the pace is there and the outright speed is there, so that’s really good. And as always, a special thanks to the Yamaha Racing Team. I know things have been tough, but they’ve been working harder than ever, and we hope to turn it around.”

2026 ASBK MORGAN PARK SUPERBIKES RACE 1