Phillip Island 2025 ASBK | Deep Dive

Unbeatable at Phillip Island? Josh Waters makes it a goldrush with opening round maximum points

The opening round of the 2025 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship has ended as the previous two years: Josh Waters and his McMartin Ducati V4 R securing maximum points with three victories and the bonus point for pole position.

At the start of the weekend it looked like the four-time ASBK champion wasn’t going to have things his own way as Anthony West (Addicted to Track – Yamaha) led both free practice sessions. Factor in that Waters was still feeling the effects of a badly broken collarbone from a pre-season testing crash and there was speculation that the McMartin Ducati was vulnerable. In fact, many teams were under-prepared for the opening round due to lack of dry track time or delays with crucial parts.

From lights out in the opening race, Waters dismissed any of those fears to streak away. However, the biggest surprise was new MotoGo Yamaha recruit Cam Dunker, who slotted into second ahead of Glenn Allerton (Superbike Advocates Racing – Ducati), Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) and West. As the race wore on, Waters consolidated his gap while West and Jones sat comfortably in the podium spots, shadow boxing until the final corner.

With Waters four seconds clear at the line, West won the slip-streaming battle over Jones by a tiny 0.017 seconds, rewarding the Addicted to Track team for their off-season development work.

“We didn’t really change much, it’s all incremental. The team have worked hard to make everything one step better,” West said afterwards. When asked what was needed to compete with the Ducati at Phillip Island, the answer was simple: “We need five to 10 more horsepower and we need world championship-level Marelli electronics like they use. I can hear the Ducati when I follow Josh… it’s completely different in the way it works the tyre. Josh can crack the throttle open, whereas I have to manage it a lot more. As soon as the Ducati stands up, it takes off. I’ve tried to mimic his lines style and follow him and it works for a few laps, but it burns up my tyres.”

Despite crashing out of fourth in the closing laps, Dunker impressed on debut, attacking aggressively – particularly against the rejuvenated Allerton, who finished fourth.

Waters repeated his masterclass in race two, blitzing the holeshot and streaking away while West and Jones slotted in behind for the podium battle. Behind them, Dunker again battled Allerton, but this time the Desmosport Ducati of Broc Pearson joined in to clinch fourth at the line after another horrid start. “We brought a really solid race bike this weekend, but we haven’t been able to get the launch control working correctly,” he explained.

Waters made yet another perfect start in the final race, streaking away from West and Jones. Pearson was again bogged down, becoming tangled with two riders and hitting the deck at the fast turn one. Allerton and Dunker battled fiercely again. This time the Ducati rider was able to push through and challenge West and Jones until a mechanical issue forced him out.

“We’re working hard on the electronics and we’ll be up there at SMSP, I love that track,” Allerton explained.

West and Jones once again diced through the final lap, with the Yamaha factory rider pipping West by the barest of margins. West lamented making his move on Jones too early.

Jones’ new YRT teammate Max Stauffer finished fourth overall after consistent finishes, this year adapting to a different team structure and electronics package. Queensland privateer John Lytras (Caboolture Yamaha) continued his good run to take fifth ahead of rookie JJ Nahlous (Complete AV – Yamaha). The biggest concern were Stop & Seal’s Cru Halliday, Tom Toparis and Arthur Sissis all struggling as they come to terms with their Michelin tyres after limited pre-season testing.

Round Winner – Josh Waters
“Since I won the championship last year, I’ve only been on a bike a handful of times. Last week I jumped on my little DR-Z, but I hadn’t ridden any type of motorbike for a long time because of my collarbone.”

Where’s Herfoss?

Troy Herfoss was entered to race at Phillip Island for the opening ASBK round, but the 2024 Moto America King of the Baggers champion was nowhere to be found for the first free practice session on Friday. Deon Coote, Herfoss’s former team boss at Penrite Honda, had intended to run a Ducati V4 R with Penrite backing and prepared by Ben Henry, functioning as a separate entity within the Desmosport team. It seems that contract details weren’t able to be worked out between Herfoss and Coote, so the plan to race had to be abandoned. With Herfoss still at his Gold Coast home, it’s thought that the contract hiccups were due to his commitments with Indian – the American manufacturer investing heavily in his title defence and also adding another rider to the factory outfit in Loris Baz. With the Penrite Ducati V4 R already at Phillip Island, Coote put it on display instead of racing and said he would have to reassess the situation in the coming weeks.

AUSTRALIAN SUPERSPORT

Before the start of the Kawasaki Supersport races, Stop & Seal team boss Robbie Bolger was adamant his two leading charges, Archie McDonald and Jack Mahaffy, would be the ones battling for the title. By the midway point of the opening race the pair were doing their best to prove that prediction correct, building a gap of two seconds to the nearest challenger, Tom Bramich (Apex – Yamaha). Bramich was in a battle of his own against the Kawasaki Ninja 636 of Olly Simpson and had curiously turned down the Kawasaki ride after testing the bike at Round Two of the Motul Summer Night Series.

McDonald took the victory with Mahaffy a few tenths back in second, with Bramich ultimately getting the better of Simpson. With that pair over five seconds off the pace, the next trio of Cameron Swain (Caboolture Yamaha), Hayden Nelson (Kawasaki Australia) and Declan Van Rosmalen (Addicted to Track – Yamaha) were a further six seconds back.

The second race saw both Mahaffy and Simpson taking a turn at the front before McDonald surged to the lead on lap three, taking control to the flag for a 0.874sec victory.

Mahaffy was once again second but he was made to work for it by Simpson, the green No.5 only conceding in the final two laps to land the final podium spot ahead of Bramich.

“Probably the biggest adjustment has been the suspension. I’ve always ridden on Ohlins and here we are using K-Tech,” Simpson said of the switch to Kawasaki. “The bike gives me a lot of confidence in the corners, though; I wasn’t expecting to be on the podium, that’s for sure.”

Bramich finished fourth, with Sydneysider Jake Farnsworth (Worth Race Developments – Yamaha) fifth.

The final race saw another twist as Mahaffy charged hard, only to be surrounded by a hungry pack. With lead changes and close calls, Bramich took his turn at the front, only to crash out with a lap remaining. At the flag, Mahaffy turned the tables on McDonald for a well-deserved victory, while the second Kawasaki of Nelson completed the podium – marking a critical step for the Taree rider in his adjustment from Dunlop to Pirelli rubber.

Round Winner – Archie McDonald
“On the last lap of the final race, even if I did a lap record I couldn’t have overtaken Jack, he was going that fast and risking everything. I can’t put it all on the line like that. I need points in every race because I miss Round Three to ride overseas. Right now, being second is better than being in the gravel trap. I’m fitter than I was last year at the same point and much better prepared mentally. Looking back, I wasn’t properly ready last year. I didn’t have the right mindset. This year is different.”

AUSTRALIAN SUPERSPORT 300

The Race and Road Supersport 300 class produced something special this time at Phillip Island – the first ever female winner in any class of racing, Tara Morrison. Morrison did it the hard way, battling experienced campaigners Jordy Simpson (Simpson Crash – Yamaha) and Scott Nicholson (Traction Control Motorsport – Kawasaki) to lead home a pack of nine that were covered by just over one second. “I went into the weekend with lots of confidence,” Morrison told AMCN. “All the stars aligned. It was a really hectic race, but that experience… knowledge… confidence, that’s what got me there, I reckon.”

Morrison knows what the correct strategy is to win at Phillip Island, but executing it is difficult. “I knew I had to be third going onto the straight. Through Lukey I was second behind Scott, then I saw Jordy’s front wheel when we were coming into MG. I thought, you know what, come on through… I’d been practising my slipstreaming a couple of laps beforehand, so I knew if there were two people I’d likely get the win.”

Simpson took the win in the second race with Hudson Thompson (MotoStars) second and Nicholson third. In the final race, flat-tracker Sam Drane (Estenson – Yamaha) broke through for the win ahead of Nicholson and Thompson.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

SW-Motech Superbike Round 1

Kawasaki Supersport Round 1

Race and Road Supersport 300 Round 1