Josh Waters on where to from here after budget issues put team on sidelines

Josh Waters

34-year-old Josh Waters has won three Australian Superbike Championships but recent years have seen his quest for a fourth somewhat stunted. 

Waters won all of his Australian Superbike Championship crowns on Suzuki machinery, the third of which was in 2017. 

After finishing fourth in the 2018 Australian Superbike Championship, again with Team Suzuki, and fifth in 2019, Suzuki then pulled out at the end of that season.  So Josh put his own team together and raced a privateer Suzuki to fifth in the championship last year, 2020.  

Then this year, 2021, Josh joined BCperformance on the ZX-10RR but has never looked comfortable.

Trevor Hedge: Josh, did you ever get the bike to a point where you felt comfortable enough to push and gain good results? Tenth in the championship is not an accurate reflection of your riding ability, what’s your take on why the results just haven’t come this year?

Josh: “Unfortunately, no, there was one time when I felt half alright on the bike and it was at Wakefield in Q1, I went alright and it all felt really good and then the bike sat out the front, no one touched it, we went to start it again, it wouldn’t go. When it finally went it didn’t run right and then it was like the electronics were different. So basically every time I’ve ridden the bike, it feels different which doesn’t build confidence… things always happened in the races with it cutting out – the majority of it – the problems were all electronic problems.”

Trev: That’s got to be quite frustrating.

Josh: “Extremely, like I said it doesn’t build confidence as you don’t know what it’s going to do and you’ll be riding around and it’ll cut out and you’ve got the throttle at 50 per cent and then it goes again. Yeah… it was just extremely frustrating. At the end the bike didn’t stop on me but it wasn’t the same all the time.

“The first two race meetings the bike cut out, it stopped in the races, in practice sessions, they couldn’t tell us why it was doing it. It was really strange because not all the bikes did it – it wasn’t like the other bike in the pits was good, like Bryan’s bike, but his at least didn’t cut out.

“They were all the same parts, it was a new bike also, so a little bit sad we didn’t get to see the real potential of the bike.”

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Trev – And now with Kawasaki pulling out, you seem to be back where you were at the end of 2019, when Suzuki pulled out, but this time around you don’t even get to finish the season.

Josh: “Yeah it’s not awesome, but I suppose it is what it is, all I can do is work my butt off to make something happen for next year. I’ve been extremely fortunate with sponsors and with people supporting me, and I know where I can be. I’ve got a lot of people who haven’t given up on me, so I need to get out there and with the right opportunities, be where I should be.”

Trev – Do you have any potential irons in the fire that would see you potentially ride at The Bend in December? And any leads on potential rides for 2022?

Josh: “It depends, I have no real plans at this stage to do The Bend, because you know like all Victorians we’ve been in a lockdown and while there has been chances to ride the BCperformance bike, it’s been a waste to go and ride with the bike how it is. Because it doesn’t fix itself and the parts weren’t available, so I’ve been off the bike for quite a long time. For next year I just need to see what’s around, there’s not a heap around, and I’m going to have to try and make something happen.”

Trev: Obviously with your work and family life in Mildura, the option of living in Europe and transitioning to becoming a full-time to World Endurance is probably a bit out of the question. Even though I guess some of your memories from the Suzuka 8 Hour are a mix of pleasure and significant pain, from the strain of racing in the sweaty Japanese summer. Still, second place at the Suzuka 8 Hour has to be one of the highlights of your racing career, and you always had somewhat of a special affinity with Japan.

Josh: “I really loved Japan, made some really good friendships over there, a big one that we made was with my team-mate for a lot of years, Nobuatsu Aoki. That’s how tight we are, he’s spent Christmas over here in Mildura, his daughter lived with my parents for a year as an exchange student. So Nobs is pretty popular over there so he’s made me known at the 8 Hour and stuff like that.

“I say it’s because I’m with a famous dude, for a lot of the fans over there he’s a big deal. Finishing second over there twice, would have to be one of my fonder memories in my racing career. Just how big the event is and another is racing with world champions and guys that I sit up on a Sunday night and Saturday night, watching, thinking they are so bloody good. Battling and catching and passing them. A lot of the time it was always really good, so fond memories I’ll never forget.

“On the grid with Jonny Rea in 2012 and I out-qualified him and was quick in the first stint, it was all a long time ago but those are memories I’ve got. Sitting on the grid beside him and giving him the thumbs up, and then seeing him to go on and dominate World Superbike for so long. Stuff like that, racing isn’t just about the one person though, even though Marquez made it look that way and he’s amazing, but it’s been difficult for him with the bike not being quite there…”

Trev – Marquez is just head and shoulders above the rest though isn’t he?

Josh: “Yeah, he is amazing, a lot of people don’t like him, but I just think he is – you can’t take anything away from him – he’s amazing.”

Trev – Like Doohan at his peak isn’t he, you can just watch him ride around all by himself.

Josh “I remember 1998 at Phillip Island, it was just amazing, even though the race was boring as bat-shit, even when he was out in practice he looked faster than everyone.”

Trev – The front completely folded and smoke steaming off his leather knee-sliders as he held it up on his knee, and he just kept doing it lap after lap.

Josh: “They were just special, and Casey was the same at Phillip Island, it was just awesome to watch. I still remember it pouring with rain and he was six-seconds a lap faster than everyone… It was like he was riding in the dry. You can’t be negative about people if you don’t like their personality or anything else when they can ride a motorcycle like that.”

Trev: In contrast, your time in the UK, whilst on the track success and pleasure were hard to come by, you got real close to the Mackenzie family, who I believe took you somewhat under their wing when you were in the UK.  You must be very happy to see Tarran’s championship win this year, even if he did beat a couple of our own to the crown.

Josh: “I was wrapped for seeing Taz win, of course we were going for Taz, he’s not Aussie but they are like family to us. They’ve spent two or three summers over here in Mildura, obviously they can’t at the minute, but they were so good to us. They were just like a family to us, in between the races this year we were texting Taz, he hasn’t changed at all, he isn’t a little rock star, the coverage was great, so we sat up and watched him win the championship and sent him a message. In between races he wrote messages back. We were really wrapped to see him win. I know there are the Aussies too and it was good to see them all go alright.”

Trev: “How old are your kids now? I know your culinary skills to be somewhat special, what’s your specialty and what do the kids prefer?”

Josh: “My oldest is my daughter, she’s five, and my youngest is 18 months, he’s a little boy. They are both very active and the popular meal at the moment has to be maybe the slow cooked beef short ribs, and the kids like that. They like chewing on the bone, even though the meat falls off it. The shit goes everywhere, they like it and you can fool them as they’ll eat the vegetables then. That’s the popular one at the minute.”

Trev: Work been busy in the housing industry and profitable despite COVID?

Josh: “I’ve been very fortunate there, work has been fine down here. We’ve been in lockdown but we’re still able to work, so very fortunate.”

Trev: All the best Josh, I hope something comes together for you in the near future so you might get another shot at that record breaking fourth Australian Superbike Championship crown.

ASBK Superbike Championship Points Standings