Josh Waters has made light work of his opposition with a brilliant clean sweep in round one of the 2025 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) at Phillip Island.

Waters won all three races in the SW-MOTECH Superbike class, with two of them coming on Sunday as he completed a flawless season opener on the McMartin Racing Ducati.

Waters’ fellow hard-nosed veterans Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) and Anthony West (Addicted to Track Yamaha) were second and third overall in round one, while Archie McDonald (Stop and Seal Yamaha) and Scott Nicholson (Kawasaki) were the leading point-scorers in the Kawasaki Supersport and Race and Road Supersport 300 classes after three days of scintillating high-speed action.

“I could not be happier with how this weekend has gone, although it certainly wasn’t as easy as it looked,” said Waters. “But I was super happy with how my McMartin Ducati performed, and this result has certainly put down a very solid foundation for the 2025 season. Racing is still a huge passion for me, and I enjoy competing – and celebrating success – with family and friends.”

PHILLIP ISLAND ASBK RESULTS: https://www.computime.com.au/Web%20Services/Computime%20-%20WebServer%20Meetings/Resultspage?MeetID=17378

The ASBK Championship opener was held in conjunction with the FIM Superbike World Championship, providing local fans the chance to cheer on Aussies Remy Gardner, Luke Power, Oli Bayliss and Harrison Voight in the international categories under brilliant Phillip Island sunshine.

Round two of the 2025 ASBK Championship will be held under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park on March 28-29, with the Superbike Masters and bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup categories also joining the fray for the first time this season.

SW-MOTECH Superbike

Josh Waters’ 17th and 18th SW-MOTECH Superbike victories at Phillip were achieved with brutal efficiency, as he sling-shotted off the line on both occasions and then immediately knuckled down to building unassailable leads.

Waters’ three wins and a pole position saw him bank a maximum 76pts (there’s a bonus point for pole position) in round one, from Mike Jones (58), Anthony West (56), Max Stauffer (Yamaha Racing Team 43) and John Lytras (Yamaha).

In race two, Waters was again in runaway mode, but this time Jones turned the tables on West as Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati) edged out race one faller Cameron Dunker (MotoGo Yamaha) in a gripping battle for fourth. Glenn Allerton (Superbike Advocates Racing Ducati), Stauffer and Cru Halliday (Stop and Seal Yamaha) completed the top eight.

It only took about 10 seconds into race three for the first flashpoint, with Pearson – who came home with a wet sail in race two – going down at turn one after being clipped and forced wide. Halliday (flat tire) and Allerton (mechanical) also failed to finish race three, leaving Waters, Jones and West to be followed home in the 11-lapper by the fast-starting Dunker, Jonathan Nahlous (Yamaha), Lytras, Stauffer and Ryan Yanko (Addicted to Track Yamaha).

Kawasaki Supersport

In a sometimes wild and woolly Kawasaki Supersport finale, Jack Mahaffy snapped Stop and Seal Yamaha teammate Archie McDonald’s two-race winning streak to bring up his third win in the category.

The start of the race saw Olly Simpson (BCperformance Kawasaki), Mahaffy, McDonald and Tom Bramich (Yamaha) constantly swap positions, and on lap seven Mahaffy and McDonald nearly collided at turn four.

That was the trigger point to take a deep breath and, with Simpson soon losing the tow, it boiled down to a race of three.

Bramich then cooked his goose on the final lap, crashing three corners from home, with a delighted Hayden Nelson (BCperformance Kawasaki) filling the void. Meanwhile, Mahaffy held off McDonald to win by 0.619 seconds, with both riders on the limit as they set their fastest laps on the final lap. Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha) and Simpson were fourth and fifth, followed by Declan van Rosmalen (Yamaha) and rookies Cameron Swain (Yamaha) and Will Nassif (Yamaha).

McDonald (71pts) takes the championship lead into round two at Sydney Motorsport Park, followed by Mahaffy (65), Simpson (51), Farnsworth (46) and Van Rosmalen (43).
Archie McDonald enjoys the Supersport spoils

Race and Road Supersport 300

Sam Drane’s already a junior dirt track star, and now he’s a Race and Road Supersport 300 winner! The 14-year-old – yes, you read correctly – won another extraordinarily tight battle in Sunday’s third and final race on his Yamaha to make it three different winners across the round. Again, the race came down to precious millimeters as 18 riders flashed across the finish line 2.2 seconds apart.

After being in the mix in the first two races without quite getting the job done, this time Drane wouldn’t be denied as he inched his way to the front on the second last lap and then kept down the shutters.

Scott Nicholson (Kawasaki) was second from 15-year-old Hudson Thompson, followed by Jordy Simpson (Yamaha), Tara Morrison (Kawasaki) and Valentino Knezovic (Yamaha).

Simpson (2-3-4) was the overall round winner from Nicholson (3-3-2), who defeated Morrison (1-6-5) on a countback after they both finished on the same points. Thompson (5-2-3) and Drane (8-8-1) saw out the top five.

The post Australian Superbike: Waters Sweeps All Three Races At Phillip Island appeared first on Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News.

Anthony West has fired an early warning shot to his rivals, setting the fastest time in practice for round one of the 2025 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) at the Phillip Island Grand Circuit.

The Queensland veteran topped both SW-MOTECH Superbike practice sessions on his Addicted to Track Yamaha, finishing the day ahead of defending champion Josh Waters (McMartin Racing Ducati) and Yamaha Racing Team’s Mike Jones

In brilliant conditions at Phillip Island today, Archie McDonald (Stop and Seal Yamaha) topped Kawasaki Superbike qualifying, while Tara Morrison (Kawasaki) made history in Race and Road Supersport 300 by becoming the first female to win in the fiercely contested class – her victory coming after a typically thrilling multi-bike lunge across the finish line.

For ASBK ROUND ONE RESULTS, go here:  https://www.computime.com.au/Web%20Services/Computime%20-%20WebServer%20Meetings/Resultspage?MeetID=17378

And there’ll be more scintillating action to come across the weekend, with the balance of the ASBK program as well as hostilities in round one of the FIM Motul Superbike World Championship featuring Aussies Remy Gardner, Luke Power, Oli Bayliss and Harrison Voight.in the WorldSBK and WorldSSP classes.

Tickets are available for Phillip Island at the gate.

SW-MOTECH Superbike
It was a case of deja vu in today’s SW-MOTECH Superbike practice sessions, with West the pacesetter in both ahead of Waters, Jones and Glenn Allerton, the latter making his debut on the Superbike Advocates Racing Ducati.

The gap between West and Waters was minimal – 0.047 seconds – and then it was over a second back to Jones.

Cameron Dunker (MotoG Yamaha Race Team) was the big improver in the second practice session, rocketing up to fifth overall to finish the day ahead of impressive rookie Jonathan Nahlous (Yamaha), Max Stauffer (Yamaha Racing Team), returning international Tom Edwards (Motoschool Racing Yamaha), Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati) and John Lytras (Yamaha).

Next up for the 25-rider Superbike field is ‘early bird’ qualifying at 8:05am on Saturday morning, followed race one at midday.

Kawasaki Supersport
The Kawasaki Supersport grid at Phillip Island is a tantalising mix of established stars, emerging talent and Supersport 300 graduates, with the 2025 championship shaping as the most competitive in recent memory.

For the moment, though, the incumbents have the upper hand, with Stop and Seal Yamaha teammates Archie McDonald and Jack Mahaffy claiming the quinella in qualifying, followed by Olly Simpson on his new BCperformance Kawasaki.

McDonald’s 1:34.945 is a new Supersport qualifying best lap, eclipsing Simpson’s previous one-year-old benchmark of 1:35.187. The lap record of 1:34.628 is held by reigning champion Jonathan Nahlous, which could be at risk when race one is held in cooler conditions at 9:25am on Saturday.

Yamahas fill the next four spots on the grid thanks to Tom Bramich, Declan van Rosmalen (Addicted to Track), Jake Farnsworth and Cameron Swain. Hayden Nelson (BCperformance Kawasaki) was eighth.

All 23 riders qualified.

Race and Road Supersport 300
Tara Morrison’s victory in the opening Race and Road Supersport 300 race – which featured a whopping 41 riders – was spectacular, drafting her way to the lead at the death knell to pip Jordy Simpson (Yamaha) by a scant 0.058 seconds.

In a cliff-hanger blanket finish of the highest order, Scott Nicholson (Kawasaki) finished third, while the top eight riders all finished within one second of Morrison.

At the equivalent ASBK Championship round in 2024, Morrison scored a breakout podium finish in the final race before injuries curtailed what was a promising campaign.

In 2025, after a sensational pre-season, she’s now reached the Supersport 300 summit – but she had to scramble and fight the whole way after Nicholson held sway in the first half in the eight-lapper.

It was inevitably going to come down to a final lap rolling scrum, though, and that’s how it turned as riders jockeyed and fought for precious Phillip Island real estate.

Oliver Short (Kawasaki), Jake Senior (Yamaha), front-row starter Hudson Thompson (Yamaha), Tom Nicholson (Kawasaki) and junior dirt track star Sam Drane (Yamaha) saw out the top eight.

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