Josh Waters completes perfect trifecta at Phillip Island

ASBK 2023

Round One – Phillip Island

Superbike Race Three

Varying weather conditions and interrupted races with extra starts as a result, nothing had managed to make a dent in the dominance of Josh Waters. On race two form it looked as though Cru Halliday had the best chance to upset the McMartin Racing applecart but he would need a lightning start if he was to throw his hat in that winners circle… A 12-lap race distance in front of them.

Josh Waters got an almost perfect launch and had about ten bike lengths on his pursuers by Southern Loop.

Arthur Sissis in second place but Allerton slid under him at turn four to take that second place. Cru Halliday had a big moment on the exit of turn four that nearly pitched him into orbit but he stayed on the bike albeit shuffled down to fifth place.

Mike Jones up to third place behind Glenn Allerton but the BMW had enough mumbo to hold the YRT man at bay down the chute to start lap two. Jones eventually got the better of him around the back of the circuit to move up to second place.

Allerton then a little wide at turn ten which opened the door for Herfoss to steal that third position and relegate him further back to fourth. Nothing separated Herfoss, Allerton, Halliday, Sissis and Staring down the chute to start lap three, but that group was already losing touch with second placed Mike Jones. Up front Waters was in another race…

Halliday was climbing all over the back of Herfoss and determined to steal third place as that duo started to pull away from fifth placed Allerton and sixth placed Staring.

Herfoss made Halliday work for it and it took the YRT man a couple of laps longer than he would have preferred but eventally he did make a move stick to take that third place with seven laps remaining.

Halliday now had clear air and was immediately the fastest man on the circuit, however, he was arelady 1.5-seconds behind his team-mate and five-seconds behind the race leader with seven laps to run. A 1m32.173 fastest lap of the race to Halliday on lap six.

Bryan Staring then ran very wide while challenging Herfoss for fourth place, losing a lot of ground in the process and slipping further down the order to sixth place as Allerton swept on by.

Cru Halliday caught Mike Jones in no time and went past him with what looked like apparent ease, immediately pulling away from the defending champ.  That pair though was already five-seconds behind Josh Waters with four laps to run.

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A little further back Glenn Allerton got the better of Troy Herfoss for fourth place but that was an ongoing battle also contested by Bryan Staring. Herfoss and Allerton swapping places regularly while Staring bided his time just behind.

Josh Waters had buttoned it off over the last few laps which allowed Halliday to start closing in. Waters dropping back to 1m33s while Halliday continued to reel of 1m32s. It seemed the chase was up though with two laps to run as Halliday then started dropping pace quite dramatically. Perhaps the YRT men on the soft option rubber that was now well past its use-by date.

Pole position, a qualifying lap record, a race lap record and three wins for Josh Waters to round out a perfect start to the season for the McMartin Racing squad. Josh did his job to perfection, the team looked to have given him the perfect tool for the job, a match made in heaven it seems.

Perhaps a sense of unfulfilled potential for Halliday but even if he had got a perfect start he would have had to do some serious bare knuckle brawling to upset Josh enough to race for the win.

Mike Jones mentioned that the wind really caused him problems in that bout but the defending champion still on the podium and a fairly clear distance ahead of Glenn Allerton who won his war with Troy Herfoss over fourth place.

Bryan Staring almost had the pace to challenge for fourth but ultimately finished in sixth place with a handy buffer over Arthur Sissis.

Lachlan Epis a further nine-seconds behind Staring and had fellow BMW rider Ted Collins for close company. We believe that Epis might have been subsequently disqualified from the results for, of all things, their engine covers being painted the wrong colour. I am sure the full story will come out at some point…

Max Stauffer finally managed to survive a race without getting punted at turn four and clinched tenth place ahead of Broc Pearson.

Mike Jones and Troy Herfoss both score 53-points for the round ahead of Glenn Allerton on an even 50.

Halliday, Sissis and Collins all leave here with 40-points in the bank.

Next stop Sydney Motorsport Park late next month.

Superbike Race Three Results

Superbike Championship Points

Phillip Island WorldSBK/ASBK Race Schedule