Josh Waters out to reclaim championship lead this weekend at Phillip Island

ASBK 2023
Round Six – Phillip Island

Preview with Josh Waters

After two rounds of the Alpinestars Superbike Championship Josh Waters and his McMartin Racing with K-tec Ducati V4R looked to be the dominant team to beat. A perfect three from three at the opening round and a new lap record at Phillip Island to boot. The three-times champion then backed that up with two race wins and another lap record at Sydney Motorsport Park for round two.

It looked as though he might be unstoppable, so much so that the team were cautioned by Motorcycling Australia that parity corrections might be applied at any time if they deemed it necessary.

Josh may not have been stopped in his tracks, but the ascendency has changed. Since Sydney he scored two fourth places at Queensland Raceway. On the long haul to Darwin as part of the V8s he won the first race, had a get off in race two before rejoining down in 13^th followed by an inspired ride back through the field to fifth, claiming another lap record along the way. In race three he was third behind the duelling pair of Herfoss and Jones.

To the fifth round at Morgan Park back in July he didn’t seem to gel too well with the circuit on the Ducati. In the first race he was in third before running off on the entry to turn one in his haste to stay in touch with Herfoss and Jones, he still  managed to salvage points in ninth position and in the second leg finished fifth.

So, in the seven races since Sydney, Waters has scored only two podiums with a win and a third place in Darwin to slip to second in the title chase – 14 points behind Herfoss.

Immediately after Morgan Park was an ill-fated trip to the Suzuka 8 Hour where it was all over before the energy sapping endurance race began for the three-times Australian Superbike Champion.  In a typical case of the “wrong spot, wrong time”, he was bowled over by an out-of-control Frenchman.

Josh suffered several injuries in the incident that kept him off a bike for most of the ensuing two months. He is the only rider thankful for the long break between rounds as it has given him the time to heal his breaks and fight back to somewhere near fitness.

In recent weeks to get some bike fitness back he has done a few ride days both at the Island and the Bend.

Injured or not, Waters will be hope to right the ship sailing into this weekend at Phillip Island.

Waters has been unstoppable at the Island of late. If he gets good starts to lead the field away and settles into his rhythm, he will be extremely difficult to dislodge.

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Obviously, the big question will be whether his right arm and wrist will be able to stand up to the rigours of three days of practice, qualifying and the two races.

Mark Bracks: Hi Josh, first up. How are you after Suzuka?

Josh Waters: “I am okay now. I’ll be fit enough to race, so all good. I am lucky we had a big break. Very fortunate.”

Bracksy: So, what were the extent of the injuries?

Waters: “I fractured, dislocated and tore ligaments in my right wrist as well as dislocating my shoulder and fractured my humerus bone. The injury was a GT [Greater Tuberosity] shoulder fracture.”

“I wasn’t impressed at all with the rider that hit me. After the crash we sat there for ages. I was hurting big time’ my wrist was dislocated; my shoulder was dislocated, and I took my leathers off on my own. There were two Japanese marshals and neither them or the rider talked to me. He didn’t say like ‘Are you alright, dude?’ Or anything we just sat there for like 20 minutes. All I was saying is ‘when are they coming to pick us up?’ Then we got in the car, and he still didn’t say anything. He had to officially apologise the next day.

“He was on a HRC bike. I know why he was following me because I was quicker than him but in qualifying, we weren’t quicker because we can’t have the same tyres and we didn’t have a factory bike.

“The best way to equate it is going into and through T10 at Eastern Creek and you’re the lead rider. Your vision is focused on T11, making it through turn 10. You’re not looking three-quarters back to see if there is anyone beside you. I had no warning and didn’t see it coming.”

Bracksy: How much pain have you still got or is it pretty good now?

Waters: “It’s still… for seven weeks I wasn’t able to move it so I couldn’t do anything but every day it gets better.”

Bracksy: Obviously you have been having physio, but have you done much strengthening; light weights, or even ride?

Waters: “Yeah, light weights I’ve been able to do for a few weeks and I have also been fortunate enough to ride so I rode a couple of weeks ago on the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at PI.”

Bracksy: So how did that go?

Waters: “Alright.”

Bracksy: How was your body the next day?

Waters: “It was sore but okay. I was also fortunate enough to ride at Tailem Bend also. And Tailem Bend is a lot more physical.”

Bracksy: So how is your confidence carrying injuries?

Waters: “I know the weekend like all rounds is not going to be easy. Go there try my hardest and have some fun. My bike works really well around there and I enjoy riding around there as well.”

Bracksy: To compare the bike in February to now, how much would you say it has changed and what parts have you improved?

Waters: “The gearbox on the new 2023 V4 R is more like a world superbike gearbox in that you can actually go back to first. It’s what the worlds supers guys do with a longer first [gear].

“The bike was pretty good, but I had also just done two days prior, and I had done bugger-all before that.

“It’s one of these things that you don’t want to be doing too much but you need to keep doing stuff to keep your eye in as well as bike and brain fitness.

“I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve been able to train but there is nothing like riding a motorbike.”

Bracksy: In that regard have you done much on the dirt?

Waters: “I’ve ridden my little DR-Z but just not going hard. Just riding around on it without doing too much.”

Bracksy: So, you haven’t been doing any desert racing like your brothers (with a laugh)

Waters: “Nah nah nah nah! Actually, before Morgan Park I crashed my little bike training and that’s where…  the injury I got at Suzuka with my shoulder and humerus, I fractured that before Morgan Park, but I never had it checked. I never had it checked as I was trying to believe that nothing was wrong with me.”

Bracksy: So, you went to Morgan Park and Suzuka with a broken humerus?

Waters: “It was fractured but it wasn’t that bad, but it was still fractured so I just I refractured it when I crashed in Japan. It’s funny with the brain, as soon as I knew it was fractured, I was like ‘Ahhhh!’ I can feel all the pain. The brain is a funny thing. I am right-handed but I’ve become left-handed. It’s funny when you have to do it…”

Bracksy: So, you’re in as good shape as could be expected.

Waters: “After Suzuka we had a plan to do lots of riding and I couldn’t do that.  You know the track days and the meetings everyone has done.”

Bracksy: If you were fit would’ve you done the Vic Championships?

Waters: “That was the plan.”

Bracksy: Herf has been down here a few times as well.

Waters: “He was down there the day I was there.”

Bracksy: Did you get on track together to compare notes?

Waters: “No, I never saw him, and I don’t think he saw me.”

Bracksy: It was good racing at the Vic champs.

Waters: “Yeah, I watched it. It looked good. Max Stauffer rode really well. Arthur was a little bit unlucky. [Ed: Sissis crashed on the exit of Turn11 needing medical assistance and was out of the meeting] Westy was doing well until he lunched it, so….

 “Yeah, if that is any indication there should be some great racing at the front this weekend.”

Bracksy: As always Josh good to talk to you and thanks for your time.

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