There’s been a wide variety of things going on in the Tarzy-verse lately! Let’s start where we left off – heading to Queensland for what the team and I call the start of the “ultimate national traveller” rounds, far from little Adelaide.
We were welcomed with sunny skies for Round 3 of ASBK at Queensland Raceway, aka ‘the Paperclip’. Friday’s practice day went great, thanks to the many laps I’d done a few weeks earlier at the Southern Downs State round. That meant no messing around with set-up – suspension, gearing or anything else. I finished P1 in FP1 and FP2, and P3 in FP3. With a smaller team this round, having Steve Martin in my corner was unreal. He helped with pit board duties and debriefed after every session and race, which gave me a real edge.
Qualifying didn’t go exactly to plan, but it gave me hunger for the races. Racing at the Paperclip is always intense – it’s got some of the hardest braking corners on the calendar. After breaking my pelvis last year in a hard braking zone, I’d lost a bit of confidence in those areas, but this weekend I finally felt like I had my groove back. I finished 6-6-6 across the three races, maintaining second in the championship and even scoring the fastest lap in Race 2. I just missed the overall podium by two points, so I’m hungrier than ever for Round 4!
Another exciting moment from this round – I got to run my new Carl Cox Motorsport logo on the side of my helmet! It’s a huge honour to be part of the CCM team, wearing the same patch as legends like Davo Johnson, Michael Dunlop, and Avalon and Billie from NZ. It’s just the beginning of our journey together.
With Morgan Park on the horizon, we knew testing there was crucial. I hadn’t ridden the track since 2023, missing last year’s round due to a broken collarbone. So 2024 wasn’t exactly my luckiest year with injuries, but the team and I like to joke that “we’ve got them all out of the way now” – fingers crossed!
The ASBK unofficial test at Morgan Park was two days of mostly good weather and solid track time. I’ve always liked the track’s layout – fast, flowing corners mixed with stop-start sections – but the surface was bumpier than I remembered. We adjusted by stiffening up the front of my K-tech fork, which helped a lot. My braking’s getting stronger too, so the bike felt more planted. We also tested my new Insta360 camera for the first time, which was awesome. I’ve been watching the footage most nights to memorise the layout and mentally run laps before the next round.
Outside of racing, I had the chance to attend the 2025 Ducati Premiere Event at Ducati Adelaide. It was great to check out the new models like the Streetfighter V2 and V4, Multistrada V2 and V4, XDiavel V4, and my personal favourite – the Panigale V2! I even got to sit on it, and it felt like home. It was also a fun night catching up with others in the motorcycle community, and of course I brought Mum along. We got red carpet pics together, and while I’m not sure how she felt, I definitely felt like a superstar.
One of the most exciting moments of my May was flying to Sydney Motorsport Park to test the new Yamaha YZF-R9 with the AMCN team. Straight off the plane and into leathers, I met up with the Yamaha Motors Australia and MotoSchool Australia crews. Aussie Superbike legend Mike Jones was there spinning laps too, so it was great catching up with him.
As for the R9 – wow. My expectations were exceeded! I rode the red-and-white model (had to match my leathers, right? haha), and the difference between street and track modes was really noticeable. Once we switched to track mode, the traction control worked great even with worn tyres, and the suspension handled heavy braking better too. The torque was the standout for me – with 117hp, clicking up through the gears felt phenomenal. After a full day of laughs, testing, media and interviews, it was straight to the airport to fly home and get back to work the next day.
On my way to the gate, I got a massive surprise – I saw myself on the front cover of AMCN magazine! I was a bit overwhelmed (maybe even had a little tear), took a selfie with the display, and bought a couple of copies to bring home and share with friends and family.
To anyone reading this – thank you for following my journey. I’m so grateful to be in the position I’m in, doing what I love and sharing it with you all. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
