Superbike teams readying for battle at SMP – Preview / Schedule / Points

ASBK 2023

Round Two – Sydney Motorsport Park

The gates for the teams opened at 0800 here this morning and the Sydney Motorsport Park pits were immediately a hive of activity as everyone prepared for a very long day and evening of practice, qualifying and racing here today with almost 12 hours of on-track action ahead of us.

Plenty of rain fell yesterday evening but it was a bright and sunny morning that greeted competitors on Friday. The forecast though is for that situation to change, and change quite dramatically. 10-20 mm of rain is forecast for later today, and there is a distinct possibility of some lighter showers on the main race day Saturday.

It is the first time since 2019 an Australian Superbike Championship round will be held at the 3.93 kilometre circuit, That year SMP hosted the then-season finale in a thrilling three-way fight between Wayne Maxwell (Suzuki GSX-R1000R), Troy Herfoss (Honda Fireblade) and eventual champion, Mike Jones (Ducati 1299 Panigale).

Alpinestars Superbike

Josh Waters and the McMartin Racing Ducati Panigale V4R were utterly dominant at Phillip Island no matter what was thrown at them. Changing conditions, interrupted races, the season opener had it all, but Waters was on top no matter what went down.

Where the championship points board after round one doesn’t really serve as the best form guide is in regards to Cru Halliday. The Sydneysider was unlucky to get baulked into a hefty crash in the opening race of the season but he finished second to Waters in the second and third bouts. In fact, if he had better starts he looked to be the only one to have the potential speed to challenge Waters.

Troy Herfoss had his Penrite Honda circulating fast and consistent here during the official ASBK Test last month and is also coming off a successful hit-out at Queensland Raceway a fortnight ago.  Herfoss had the better of Mike Jones at that event, but Yamaha Racing Team’s defending champion will be out to turn that back around here this weekend.

Glenn Allerton starts a new joint venture this weekend with Trevor Groeneveld as GT Racing begins operations this weekend with Glenn onboard the same BMW M 1000 RR machinery that he previously campaigned at round one, but in the fresh new structure without long-time crew chief Shane Kinderis.

Arthur Sissis never really starred at Phillip Island but as always he still put good points on the board, despite flying somewhat under the radar. Arthur doesn’t have much more speed to find in order to start regularly challenging for podiums, but their test sessions here were plagued by mechanical gremlins so he will be somewhat behind the eight-ball.

Ted Collins kept his nose clean to collect a handy 40-point swag at the season opener to finish two-points ahead of Bryan Staring. The MotoGP Yamaha being ridden by Staring this season is a very different beast to that which was ridden by Anthony West last year, YRD has built the bikes for the MotoGO squad this season and the results are showing. I expect Staring to be in the podium mix this weekend.

Matt Walters debuted the RSV4 Aprilia at Phillip Island and will have had much more time to get the bike prepared for this round. He could surprise, particularly in the wet…

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Broc Pearson failed to really fire at Phillip Island and will be out for redemption this weekend on the DesmoSport Ducati after they have a few mechanical gremlins at the season opener that dented his confidence. Alongside Sissis, the young Queenslander has probably the least experience of any of the leading contestants around this very tricky SMP lay-out.

Superbike Championship Points after Round One

Michelin Supersport

A determined Ty Lynch pulled off gritty ride after gritty ride in classic Phillip Island conditions when his rivals all parted company with their machines. Luck may have played a role in round one for our Supersport Championship Leader, but he and his team left The Island knowing they need to unlock more speed from their YZF-R6 if they are to keep up this championship challenge.

Reigning champion John Lytras had an opening weekend to forget, aside from one podium in treacherous conditions, the gold #1 was tough to spot, consistently mid-pack. Lytras and Lynch are in a similar position heading into round two, as both of them acknowledge they openly struggled for pace and confidence at Phillip Island. However, it’s a long year, with many unknowns in front of them. This weekend is a chance to take the championship by storm and put your rivals on notice.

Lytras knows how to win, and knows how to put together a championship-winning season, expect to see him up the pointy end this weekend as they rebound.

Supersport Championship Points

Supersport 300

The points system for ASBK favours consistency. Despite the SS300 crew having three races a weekend, a DNF can leave you in the dust both literally and figuratively. Even a poor points result can be damaging, so even if you can’t win, scrape all the points you can.

Looking at round one, it’s hard to go past Brandon Demmery. But on closer inspection, he missed the winning break in race three (9th) and had to settle for 12 points, when he was previously able to take 20 and 25 respectively.

While round winner Jai Russo was able to snaffle a race win, he was also “only” able to finish third and sixth in the other two races.

Pole-sitter Cameron Swain was off the pace in races one (8th) and two (9th), but also sailed into the distance for a rare solo race win in race three.

The season opener was certainly a tale of differing fortunes from one race to the next. The highly technical nature of SMP though will present more of a challenge where slipstreaming will not be quite as crucial and beneficial, so we might see that form guide change and other riders enter the fray.

Supersport 300 Championship Points

Superbike Championship Points after Round One

SMP ASBK Schedule

Friday 24th March
Time		Class	Event	Duration
930	950	Riders Briefing (SSP300, OJC, Masters)	B1	20 mins
1000	1020	Riders Briefing (SBK, SSP)	B2	20 mins
1100	1125	Supersport	FP1	25 mins
1130	1150	SSP300 / R3 cUP	FP1	20 mins
1155	1225	Superbike	FP1	30 mins
1230	1245	bLU cRU	FP1	15 mins
1250	1305	Superbike Masters	FP1	15 mins
1310	1335	Supersport	FP2	25 mins
1335	1405	ASBK TV Track Time – Drinks Break	30 mins
1405	1410	Superbike	FP2	30 mins
1440	1500	SSP300 / R3  Cup	FP2	20 mins
1505	1520	Superbike Masters	FP2	15 mins
1525	1540	bLU cRU	FP2	15 mins
1545	1610	Supersport	Q1	25 mins
1615	1635	SSP300 / R3 Cup	Q1	20 mins
1640	1710	Superbike	FP3	30 mins
1720	1735	bLU cRU	Q1	15 mins
1740	1755	Superbike Masters	Q	15 mins
1755	1900	Dinner – ASBK Pillion Rides	65 mins
Night Sessions
1900	1920	SSP300 / R3 Cup	Q2	20 mins
1925	1950	Supersport	Q2	25 mins
1955	2010	bLU cRU	Q2	15 mins
2015	2035	Superbike	Q1	25 mins
2045	2100	Superbike	Q2	15 mins
2100	2110	ASBK TV & Media Interviews	ASBK TV	10 mins
2110	2135	SSP300 / R3 Cup	R1	20 mins
2140	2200	bLU cRU	R1	6 Laps
2205	2220	Superbike Masters	R1	6 Laps
Saturday 25th March
Time		Class	Event	Duration
1400	1405	bLU cRU	WUP	5 mins
1410	1415	Supersport	WUP	5 mins
1420	1430	Superbike	WUP	10 mins
1435	1440	SSP300 /  R3 Cup	WUP	5 mins
1445	1450	Superbike Masters	WUP	5 mins
1450	1510	ASBK Pillion Rides – Drinks Break	20 mins
1510	1530	bLU cRU	R2	6 Laps
1540	1610	Supersport	R1	11 Laps
1620	1655	Superbike	R1	13 Laps
1705	1730	SSP300 / R3 Cup	R2	8 Laps
1740	1755	Superbike Masters	R2	6 Laps
1755	1930	Dinner – ASBK Pitlane Walk	95 mins
Night Races
1930	1950	bLU cRU	R3	6 Laps
2000	2030	Supersport	R2	11 Laps
2040	2105	SSP00	R3	8 Laps
2115	2150	Superbike	R2	13 Laps
2200	2215	Superbike Masters	R3	6 Laps

2023 ASBK Calendar