Archie McDonald
Archie McDonald is yet another young Aussie rider who has graduated to the tarmac from Flat Track and Dirt Track, where he won five Australian Championships.
Archie joined the Oceania Junior Cup in its inaugural year as a 12-year-old, finishing fourth in OJC that year behind Carter Thompson, Angus Grenfell and Tom Drane.
He then progressed into the Supersport 300 and YMF R3 Cup ranks for the COVID-interrupted 2020 and 2021 seasons.
In 2021, Archie bounced back from a broken leg early in the season that saw him miss the opening round, before he then started to rack up 12 podiums and a couple of race wins. Finishing fourth in Supersport 300, and fifth in the YMF R3 Cup, winning the final round in both classes.
These three young guns are all kicking goals in Europe and the U.S.A.
Tom Drane (Left), Archie McDonald (Middle) and Angus Grenfell (Right).
Seen together here on the podium at The Bend late in 2021
Image RbMotoLens
In 2022, Archie contested the European R3 Cup. After missing the first round of what was only a six-round series, Archie finished ninth in the championship with a brace of fifth-place finishes.
Last year, Archie contested the 2023 FIM JuniorGP Superstock (600 cc) and bagged good points at every single round, which saw him claim fifth overall in the championship. He finished third at the season finale only to be docked a position for exceeding track limits.
Archie has a big personality to go with his big smile and effervescent character. Everyone will be glad to have him back in the ASBK paddock in 2024 as the now 17-year-old plans to pull double duty between the Australian Supersport and FIM JuniorGP Superstock 600 Championships.
While in Europe, Archie bases himself out of Mallorca, while in Australia, his home base is Jindera, a small town close to Albury.
Mallorca is a nice place to spend time with plenty of nice beaches and some great cycling roads in the mountains. Who do you knock about with in Mallorca Archie, and who do you live with there?
“I share an apartment with some people that work in Mallorca. Just share a room with some Spanish workers in their apartment. My coach lives five-minutes away, along with Joel Kelso and Collin Veijer. They pick me up to go to the training track, which is about a 15-minute drive, for training sessions there. And we meet up for cycling, running or whatever, always getting together for training.”
Team owner Robbie Bolger has amassed somewhat of an armada of riders to take on the Australian Supersport Championship this year under his Stop & Seal Racing umbrella for 2024. You, alongside Jack Mahaffy, Glenn Nelson, and Corey Turner, that is quite a line-up. You recently rode a Stop & Seal YZF-R6 at the Hartwell Club Day earlier this month at Phillip Island. How did you gel with the bike and the team?
“It was great. It was better than I expected, and it really raised my hopes heading towards this weekend, as well as the year in ASBK. I can’t thank Robbie and the team enough for putting this together, to give me an opportunity to race in ASBK, it’s just good to be, you know, I’d say back at home almost, within ASBK.”
And the team you will race with in Europe this year, is it pretty much the same personnel in the garage this season as you raced with in 2023?
“Same team, same championship, same bike, I am living in the same place, it is all the same it is just this time around it is not a warm-up. It will be my second time at the tracks, not my first time, so I am confident for the championship.”
See you next weekend at Phillip Island, Archie, and good luck for season 2024.
Phillip Island ASBK/WSBK Schedule
| Friday 23rd February 2024 | ||
| Time | Class | Event |
| 0740 | Timekeeping -Track System Test | Test |
| 0805 | FIM Medical Inspection /// FIM Track Inspection | |
| 0845 | Australian Supersport 300 | FP |
| 0910 | Australian Supersport | FP |
| 0940 | Australian Superbike | FP1 |
| 1025 | WorldSSP | FP |
| 1120 | WorldSBK | FP1 |
| 1210 | Course Car Rides | |
| 1235 | ASBK Pillion Rides | |
| 1310 | Australian Supersport 300 | Q |
| 1340 | Australian Supersport | Q |
| 1410 | Australian Superbike | FP2 |
| 1455 | WorldSSP | Superpole |
| 1600 | WorldSBK | FP2 |
| 1705 | Australian Supersport 300 | R1 |
| Saturday 24th February 2024 | ||
| 0705 | Timekeeping -Track System Test | Test |
| 0725 | FIM Medical Inspection /// FIM Track Inspection | |
| 0805 | Australian Superbike | Q |
| 0850 | Australian Supersport 300 | R2 |
| 0925 | Australian Supersport | R1 |
| 1000 | WorldSBK | FP |
| 1030 | WorldSSP | WUP |
| 1100 | Pit Walk 1 & Course Car Rides | |
| 1200 | Australian Superbike | R1 |
| 1300 | WorldSBK | Superpole |
| 1335 | Australian Supersport | R2 |
| 1430 | WorldSSP | R1 |
| 1505 | ASBK Pillion Rides | |
| 1600 | WorldSBK | R1 |
| Sunday 25th February 2024 | ||
| 0800 | Timekeeping -Track System Test | Test |
| 0830 | FIM Medical Inspection /// FIM Track Inspection | |
| 0910 | Australian Supersport 300 | R3 |
| 0945 | Australian Superbike | R2 |
| 1030 | WorldSBK | WUP |
| 1050 | WorldSSP | WUP |
| 1125 | Australian Supersport | R3 |
| 1155 | Pit Walk 2 & Course Car Rides | |
| 1300 | WorldSBK | SPRace |
| 1340 | Australian Superbike | R3 |
| 1430 | WorldSSP | R2 |
| 1505 | ASBK Pillion Rides | |
| 1600 | WorldSBK | R2 |
2024 Australian Superbike Championship Calendar
- Round 1: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC Feb 23-25
- Round 2: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW Mar 22-23
- Round 3: Queensland Raceway, QLD Apr 26-28
- Round 4: Morgan Park Raceway, QLD Jul 12-14
- Round 5: Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC Sept 7-8
- Round 6: One Raceway, NSW Oct 4-6
- Round 7: The Bend Motorsports Park, SA Nov 8-10
