Cru Halliday & Mike Jones confirmed for 2024 Yamaha Racing Team
Yamaha Motor Australia continue to be a big supporter of Australian circuit racing, not only supporting a number of riders and teams, but also throwing significant support behind this year’s 2024 ASBK championship.
The Yamaha bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup returns with a grid full of adrenaline filled thrill-seekers ready to do battle it out over six rounds this year and begin their journey in road racing.
The category has been a huge winner for both Yamaha and the ASBK championship as it has introduced hundreds of riders into circuit racing and been a successful breeding ground for many riders. The first batch of riders are now entering Australian Supersport classes and others contesting international championship events.
The R3 Cup also returns with three rounds to be contested in this year’s series, branded as the ShopYamaha R3 Cup. ShopYamaha is Yamaha’s online market place and can be found via the Yamaha Motor Australia website – https://shop.yamaha-motor.com.au/
Starting in Australia nearly a decade ago, the R3 Cup is now a worldwide racing program that sees all riders compete on Yamaha R3 machines and provides them with the opportunity to develop their skills and compete internationally with two Australian riders invited to the R3 Cup Supefinale in Portugal last year.
Yamaha also offer the only manufacturer track side support at the ASBK rounds via the YRD program. For those who need technical advice or a part to get them through the race weekend, they can head over to see Stewart and Janice Winton at the YRD truck, who will be only too happy to help out.
Those racing a Yamaha at the ASBK rounds, are also eligible for Yamaha’s lucrative bonus program for each round, and the championship, Yamaha dishing out over $100,000 per season in recent years.
Add to that sponsorship of the ASBK Championship, a race replica, five bike display at each round and the presence of the Yamaha Racing Team and you have the biggest backers of racing in Australia.
Yamaha Racing Team
Despite not winning the 2023 Superbike Championship, the duo of Cru Halliday and Mike Jones put a YRT R1M on the podium at every round last season. The final results saw Halliday in third and Jones in fifth but they were both far more competitive than the end results suggest.
Halliday keeps his long-term relationship with Yamaha going for 2024 and showed there is plenty of fight and motivation in the New South Welshmen with his strong finish to the year. Halliday started the year well in 2023, with podiums in the six of the first seven races and then finished the year with a second place at Phillip Island, highlighted with a race win, and a second-place finish at the final round at The Bend.
Halliday has finished on the championship podium a handful of times over his career, but the championship number 1 still eludes him and that’s the driving force behind his 2024 campaign.
Cru Halliday
“YRT is my racing home and I’m looking forward to another year of racing with the team. The last couple of years, both Mike and myself at been very competitive at every track and it’s a credit to the guys on the team for the hard work they do and the bikes they build. My motivation is as high as ever and its time I rewarded my family and the team with a championship win so I’m all out to get that done in 2024.”
Mike Jones will bring back his familiar number 46 for the 2024 season as he fights to regain the number 1 plate again. The three-time ASBK champ had a luckless season in 2023 and despite producing some of the closest and most exciting racing ASBK has seen, Jones couldn’t recapture the magic that saw him win the 2022 crown.
But there were lessons learnt and improvements made at every circuit on the schedule, so Jones comes into the 2024 ASBK season opener confident that he can produce the kind of riding that has seen him climb the mountain three times before.
Mike Jones
“I took a few weeks off after the final round last year and had the chance to reflect on what I did well and what I can improve on this season and I believe that I’m still not at my peak as a rider. Last year I set a number of personal best times at the majority of the tracks and I think myself, the team and the bike can go even faster in 2024. I know the guys haven’t stopped back in the workshop as they prepare for the season and we have a number of riding days and tests scheduled prior to round one to ensure we are in a good place when the championship starts.”
Yamaha also supports many other races via the YRD support program across various classes. Bryan Staring (MotoGo), Max Stauffer (GYT Moto Stars), Ant West (Addicted To Track) will continue in the Superbike class and be joined by Ty Lynch and John Lytras, who both step up to the premier division in 2024 from the Supersport ranks.
Olly Simpson is back on board the Yamaha YZF-R6 in Supersport, while Cameron Swain will move from the 300 cc class to contest the 600 cc division in 2024.
The opening round of the ASBK Championship will be run in conjunction with the first round of the FIM Superbike World Championships (WSBK) on February 23 -25.
2024 ASBK Calendar
2024 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul
• Rd1: February 23-25, Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Vic
• Rd2: March 22-23, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW
• Rd3: April 26-28, Queensland Raceway, Qld
• Rd4: July 12-14, Morgan Park Raceway, Qld,
• Rd5: September 7-8, Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Vic
• Rd6: October 4-6, One Raceway, NSW (Wakefield Park)
• Rd7: November 8-10, The Bend, SA
