One point. That’s all Josh Waters requires to clinch a history-making fifth Superbike title at the grand finale of the 2025 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) at The Bend from November 7-9.
After yet another towering season from Waters, the McMartin Racing Ducati rider holds a 50pt (338 to 288) lead over Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) in the SW-Motech Superbike class heading into The Bend, where a maximum 51pts will be up for grabs across qualifying and the two 11-lap races.
And with The Bend’s expansive layout more receptive to the Ducati’s brute horsepower compared to the last round at One Raceway, Waters can certainly wrap up the championship during qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
However, Waters is yet to claim pole position at The Bend during his storied career, while Jones has started at the pointy end three times, including last year. If the silky-smooth Jones can pull out another one-lap blinder on Saturday on his YZF-R1 M, the focus will then shift to a high-stakes super Sunday.
And it’s not just SW-Motech Superbike which is going to the wire at The Bend, with 2025 champions to also be crowned in Kawasaki Supersport – featuring the immense talent of two-time British Superbike champion Kyle Ryde – the ShopYamaha R3 Cup, BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup and Superbike Masters. Scott Nicholson wrapped up the Race and Road Supersport 300 class in the penultimate round at One Raceway.
The full catalogue of ASBK classes adds up to a massive program at The Bend, with on-track action starting from 8am ACDT (8:30am AEDT) on Saturday and Sunday.
There will be 17 races across the weekend, as well as multiple press conferences in the circuit’s welcome centre featuring Waters, Ryde, the top three in Superbike qualifying, the top three in all races, and Aussie circuit racing legends Chris Vermeulen, Garry McCoy and Steve Martin.
The traditional ASBK pit lane walk will also be held during the Sunday lunch interval, where spectators can grab autographs from their favourite riders.
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- SW-Motech Superbike
At One Raceway (NSW), Jones claimed two wins in a superb rearguard action to keep his title hopes hanging by a thread, but he was forced to dig deep as rising star Cameron Dunker (MotoGO Yamaha) made him work hard for the victories.
For Waters, One Raceway was his worst outing of the year with a pair of fifth places. In race two he missed out on a fourth place by a miniscule 0.088sec to Jones’ newly drafted teammate Troy Herfoss. Those nonoseconds were just enough to ensure that Jones kept his championship hopes alive.
Jones is just 19pts (288 to 269) in front of Anthony West (Addicted to Track Yamaha) in the Superbike standings, which is probably where the real pragmatist in Jones is channelling his major focus at The Bend: keeping his fellow Queenslander at bay, especially with the rich vein of form shown by West in the second half of the season.
With no idea rider in contention for a top three championship finish, Dunker, Glenn Allerton (Superbike Advocates Ducati) and Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati) are separated by just 3pts in their battle for fourth, while Jonathan Nahlous (Omega Racing Team Yamaha) is seventh and on the cusp of claiming rookie of the year honours.
Cru Halliday (Stop and Seal Ducati) and Max Stauffer (Yamaha) will also be in contention, while Herfoss is returning to a happy hunting ground where he has won a remarkable six races: twice from pole position and four times from outside the front row.
The 20-rider field will also include Luca Durning (DesmoSport Ducati), who is stepping up from his normal Supersport Next Gen mount.
- Kawasaki Supersport and Supersport Next Gen
Ryde is a spectacular addition to the Kawasaki Supersport grid, having been drafted into the Stop and Seal team alongside the two major title protagonists: Jack Mahaffy and Archie McDonald.
With a 24pt (265 to 241) buffer over McDonald, Mahaffy clearly has the stronger hand but the mercurial McDonald – coming off an impressive outing in last weekend’s European Stock round in Barcelona – won’t make it easy.
Oli Simpson (BCperformance Kawasaki) is third in the standings on 234pts, and at his home track will be pushing hard to force an error from Mahaffy and/or McDonald – but Ryde could well be the fly in the ointment, with the Briton returning to the Supersport ranks for the first time in a decade.
As always, the likes of Tom Bramich (Yamaha), Hayden Nelson (BCperformance Kawasaki), Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha), Marcus Hamod (Motocity Honda), Tom Edwards (TeamBWR Yamaha), Levi Russo (Motoschool Racing Team Yamaha), Will Nassif (Omega Racing Team Yamaha) and Josh Newman (Addicted to Track Yamaha) will be in the hunt, while Tom Toparis and visiting international Eugene McManus will ride Stop and Seal Ducatis in the Supersport Next Gen class.
McManus, from Ireland, competed in two World Supersport rounds this season on a Panigale V2.
- Race and Road Supersport 300/ShopYamaha R3 Cup
The Race and Road Supersport 300 class may have already crowned Nicholson (Kawasaki) with a round to spare, but the action will be as manic as ever with a freight train of riders in the front pack.
Tara Morrison (Kawasaki) was in second spot all season until an inexplicably disastrous weekend at One Raceway saw her drop to fourth place behind round winner Jake Paige (Champions Ride Days Kawasaki) and Jordy Simpson (Yamaha) – and with Tyler King (Kawasaki) and Mitch Simpson (Yamaha) now nipping at her heels as well.
It all makes for a tantalising grand finale, with others to watch out for including Riley Nauta (Champions Ride Days Kawasaki), Hudson Thompson (Yamaha), Valentino Knezovic (Yamaha) and Nikolas Lazos (Yamaha).
Such is the intensity, any of 20 riders could snare a win in the three races.
In the ShopYamaha R3 Cup, Mitch Simpson, Lazos, Jordy Simpson, Thompson and John Pelgrave hold the top five positions, with the title still wide open.
- BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup
After a see-sawing season at the sharp end of the standings between Connor Lewis and Chaz Williams, Australia’s newest junior road race champion will be crowned at The Bend.
Lewis leads by 3pts (270 to 267), while Rossi McAdam (232pts) could come from the clouds if it goes pear-shaped for the top two.
Still plenty to play out for the junior jets!
- Superbike Masters
In Superbike Masters, Beau Beaton (Ducati) is looking to become the first rider to go through the series undefeated.
On paper, Beaton should get the job done with a minimum of fuss, leaving the likes of Michael Berti Mendez (Ducati), Phil Allen (Ducati), Phillip Burke (Honda), Ben Burke (Honda) and Scott Nicholson (Honda) – yes, the newly minted Supersport 300 champion! – battling for the minor places.
For more information on the 2025 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul: