Cameron Dunker and Josh Waters snared the race wins during an electrifying round three of the 2026 Penrite Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) at The Bend from May 1-3.
After six previous podiums in the SW-Motech Superbike class, the gifted 18-year-old Dunker (Blue Marlin Pools Yamaha) finally reached the summit after victory in race one, while defending champion Waters (McMartin Racing Ducati) rebounded superbly from a disappointing opener to score a runaway win in the second 11-lapper.
After a sodden Saturday at The Bend, Sunday’s Superbike racing was held on a dry track – but the conditions were still far from benign with gusty cross winds keeping riders on high alert.
Existing lap records may not have been threatened, but the racing was still exceptional as Ducati pair Cru Halliday (Stop and Seal) and Glenn Allerton (Superbike Advocates Racing) flashed across the line on the bumper of Dunker in race one, while Harrison Voight (McMartin Racing Ducati) and the fast-finishing Jonathan Nahlous (Yamaha Racing Team) joined Waters on the podium in race two.
With seven of 11 races completed in the 2026 championship, it’s still a tight battle with Voight holding an 11pt (147 to 136) lead over Waters, followed by Jacob Roulstone (Motocity Honda, 124pts), Dunker (113pts), Halliday (108pts) and Allerton (103pts).
A maximum of 102pts are still available in the final two rounds at Morgan Park Raceway (May 29-31) and Queensland Raceway (June 26-28) as the championship concludes in the Sunshine State.
- SW-Motech Superbike
A long period of sublime weather in the southern states was snapped on Saturday afternoon as the heavens opened, and it was Waters who made the most of the conditions with his 21st Superbike pole position ahead of Voight, Dunker, Jones, Nahlous and Allerton.
Roulstone and Anthony West (DesmoSport Ducati) both crashed in qualifying, with the former finishing a lowly 13th while West hurt his right hand and opted to sit out Sunday. He was replaced on the Panigale V4 R by regular DesmoSport Ducati Supersport rider Olly Simpson.
Race one on Sunday morning saw Voight lead from Waters in the first half before Halliday and then Dunker took over the running from the defending champion.
Heading into the final lap, Voight could almost taste a fourth win of the season before he ran wide at turn one – an opening which Dunker, Halliday and Allerton gratefully accepted.
Dunker then held his composure on the final lap to win his first Superbike race from lap record holder Halliday, Allerton, Voight, Nahlous, Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team), Waters and Roulstone.
“I can’t be happier; the guys have been unreal the last few weeks with how hard they’ve worked, particularly since my crash in Sydney and then getting everything back together and working the best it can,” said Dunker.
“The team has given me a great bike which meant I could show the pace I have and what I can do aboard the R1.”
Dunker was also hunting for a double podium in race two before being passed on the final lap by Nahlous, as Waters made the outing his own after putting down the hammer from lap six – setting a pace that even Voight couldn’t match.
Roulstone was fifth from Halliday, Allerton and Simpson in an impressive deputisation role.
- Kawasaki Supersport and Supersport Next Gen
High drama and heroics in Kawasaki Supersport/Next Gen, with Tom Toparis (Stop and Seal Ducati) and Hayden Nelson (BCperformance Kawasaki) winning the two races and polesitter Olly Simpson (DesmoSport Ducati) an early casualty in race one to bring his campaign to a premature end.
Toparis’ day also turned sour when he crashed on the sighting lap of race two after precipitation swept across the circuit, leaving a depleted 10-rider field.
After hostilities had ended, Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha) retained his 2pt lead in the Supersport class over Valentino Knezovic (Addicted to Track Yamaha), while Nelson is the new Supersport Next Gen leader ahead of teammate Tom Edwards, with Simpson dropping back to third.
In race one, Toparis checked out after Simpson’s demise to win by over one second, while it was an epic battle for second with Knezovic scoring a breakout rookie result in second from Nelson, Edwards, Farnsworth and Jordy Simpson (Yamaha).
The second nine-lapper boiled down to a BCperformance Kawasaki benefit, with Nelson just edging out Edwards by 0.196secs, followed by Farnsworth, Knezovic, Simpson and Josh Soderland (Yamaha), who retains third in the Supersport standings.
- Race and Road Supersport 300
Riley Nauta (Champions Ride Days Kawasaki) was the big Race and Road Supersport 300 mover at The Bend, with his 10-1-1 results seeing him surge to second in the standings behind New Zealander Tyler King (Kawasaki).
King leads by 27pts, and then it’s a logjam: Nauta is on 122pts ahead of teammate Orlando Peovitis (121pts), Tara Morrison (Kawasaki, 121pts), Jordy Simpson (Yamaha, 112pts), Seth Dellow (TeamBWR Yamaha, 112pts), Rossi McAdam (Yamaha, 105pts) and Phoenix O’Brien (Blue Marlin Pools Racing Yamaha, 102pts).
Matthew Ritter (Kawasaki) is next, and it was the Victorian who won his first Supersport 300 race on a wet Saturday afternoon where attrition was huge: including King, who was able to remount and resume, while a bone-jarring tangle between Jake Senior (Blue Marlin Pools Racing Yamaha) and Alvin Wu (Addicted to Track Yamaha) took them both out of calculations.
At the front, Ritter just edged out local star Morrison, while Dellow was third.
On Sunday, it was the same trifecta in both races: Nauta with just too much late speed and guile ahead of King and Peovitis. Morrison was fourth in both outings from Ritter and Simpson.
The penultimate round of the 2026 ASBK Championship will be held at Morgan Park Raceway from May 29-31. Click on the graphic below to purchase tickets.
