Warm, sunny skies and just a hint of a breeze greeted racers on the first day of the two-day official pre-season MotoAmerica test at The Podium Club in Casa Grande, Arizona. Representatives from Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha Racing, Team Hammer, Tytlers Cycle Racing, Warhorse HSBC Racing Ducati and OrangeCat Racing joined privateers in lapping the 2.32-mile circuit, located between Phoenix and Tuscon.
The Warhorse HSBC squad had three Ducati V2 Panigale racebikes on hand for Wristin Grigg, new signee Cameron Petersen and defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Josh Herrin. The squad was prepping Herrin for the upcoming Daytona 200, while Petersen and Grigg were testing for the regular season. Petersen had a small crash in Turn One toward the end of the day, but his team said Petersen was happy with the bike in his first outing on the V-twin.
Cameron Petersen (45). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Multi-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne continued his return to action following his hiatus for the last two races of the 2024 season to recuperate from injury.
Jake Gagne (32). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Cameron Beaubier, who also missed races last season due to injury, was back in action. Beaubier said his goal for the test was just getting re-acclimated to the speed of a full-blown Superbike.
Cameron Beaubier (6). Photo by Michael Gougis,
Bobby Fong continued his work with the Attack squad, who picked him up after Fong won two races last season on a satellite Yamaha. Fong says the change isn’t so much in the machine as it is in the routine of working to develop a factory-supported racebike.
Bobby Fong (50). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Sean Dylan Kelly was happy with his second day on the Team Hammer Suzuki GSX-1000R, praising the bike’s speed but looking for more stability in the chassis. Dylan took part in an earlier Dunlop test at the track.
Sean Dylan Kelly. Photo by Michael Gougis.
OrangeCat Racing’s Andrew Lee and Jason Uribe worked with their 2024 Stock 1000 BMW M 1000 RR machines. The 2025 machines from Alpha Racing are still under construction and development and are scheduled to appear later in the year.
Andrew Lee (14). Photo by Michael Gougis.Jason Uribe (36). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Tom Booth-Amos won FIM Supersport World Championship Race Two Sunday at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, in Australia. Riding his PTR Triumph Factory Racing Street Triple RS 765, the Brit won the 18-lap race by 0.671 seconds.
Stefano Manzi was a close second on his Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing YZF R9, and Bo Bendsneyder got third on his MV Agusta Reparto Corse F3 800 RR.
Former MotoAmerica regular Valentin Debise crashed his Renzi Corse Ducati Panigale V2 on turn 1.
The final WorldSSP race of the Australian Round was a stunning affair as a new name stood on the top of the podium
Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) is now a FIM Supersport World Championship race winner after taking Triumph to the top step of the rostrum at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. The #69 took the British manufacturer’s second win in the Championship as he secured his second podium of the weekend during the Australian Round.
FIRST-TIME WINNER: Booth-Amos claims his first ever victory, Manzi P2
Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) etched his name into the list of FIM Supersport World Championship race winners as he tops the podium for his first-ever WorldSSP win at Race 2 in Australia. With his win, Booth-Amos becomes the fourth-ever rider to win a race in both World Supersport and World Supersport 300. He and Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) traded places from Race 1’s podium, as Manzi led the race for long stretches but was outpaced in the Gardner Straight by Booth-Amos to give up P1. Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) avoided much of the chaos at the front of the grid by nature of his poor start to the race. Having started the race in pole position, Bendsneyder fell to P13 only a few turns into Lap 1. He gritted his teeth and climbed back up the timesheet to round out the rostrum in P3.
RINALDI BACK IN THE MIX: Michael Rinaldi P4, teammate Mahias P6
Atop the new Yamaha R9, GMT94 Yamaha teammates Michael Rinaldi and Lucas Mahias had a strong showing in Race 2, especially in the case of Rinaldi, who had not shown the same pace as Mahias in prior races this weekend. Splitting the two Yamaha teammates, in P5, Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki Racing Team) crossed the finish line in P3, however after applying his 6.78s Pit Lane Intervention time penalty, he was sent down the grid into P6.
HOMEGROWN TALENT P7: Bayliss, Cardelus, Toba, Vostatek round out top 10
Oli Bayliss represented for the home crowd and claimed a P7, making it a very successful day for the PTR Triumph Factory Racing Team. Xavi Cardelus (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) recovered well from running off the track to avoid the Debise/Masia crash, climbing back up the track to P8. Kaito Toba (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) finished in P9, the fastest Honda on the day. Ondrej Vostatek (WRP Racing) was assessed a 0.765s penalty for an early departure from pit lane, however still managed to crack the top 10, more than 2.5s ahead of Luke Power (Motozoo Me air Racing)
WOULD-BE PODIUM WOES: Debise, Masia, Schroetter crash out of race from podium positions
Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse) and Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) were in the heat of battle for the podium positions throughput the first half of the race and upon the exit of the Pit Intervention. Their podium dreams were dashed however as upon their Turn 1 entry, Masia clipped his rear tyre, sending the pair of them sliding into the gravel at high speed. Both bikes were badly damaged after the collision, and both riders were sent to the medical centre after they were each slow to get up. Masia was diagnosed with minor scrapes and contusions, but Debise was diagnosed with a more serious lateral malleolus fracture on his right ankle. Marcel Schroetter (WRP Racing) found himself in P1 after passing the crash site, a position he wasn’t able to capitalise on as at Turn 11 of the same lap, Schroetter low-sided out of the race, and caused Xavi Cardelus to fall to P14 in the as he took avoiding action. Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Racing) competed well, hanging around the top five including an impressive battle with Manzi, however, his race result betrayed this effort as a late low-side crash knocked him down the results list to P16, outside scoring positions.
Nicolò Bulega won the World Superbike Superpole Race Sunday morning at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, in Australia. Riding his Aruba.It Racing – Ducati Panigale V4R on spec Pirelli tires, the Italian racer won the 10-lap race by 2.324 seconds.
Andrea Iannone was the runner-up on his Team Pata Go Eleven Ducati Panigale V4R, and Danilo Petrucci made it an all-Ducati podium by placing third on his Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati Panigale V4R.
Defending World Champion, Toprak Razgatlioglu, finished 13th after running off the track on turn 4 on his ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team M1000RR.
American Garrett Gerloff crashed his Kawasaki WorldSBK Team ZX-10RR on turn 6.
A chaotic Superpole Race at Phillip Island features Bulega again P1 and low finishes from Razgatlioglu and Bautista.
Nicolo Bulega makes it two for two so far in this weekend’s races, holding off Andrea Iannone in P2.
2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship runner up Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) dominated once again in the Tissot Superpole Race. The Italian rider in his sophomore season has been on fire out of the gates, once again finishing P1. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) recovered from his disappointing P6 result in race 1, giving Bulega a run for his money before he pulled away. A chaotic Turn 4 fracas saw Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Racing Team) and Alvaro Baustista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) run off track, hurting their race placement. Razgatlioglu’s P14 finish spelled the end of his streak of P1 or P2 finishes, stretching all the way back to his return from injury in Aragon in 2024’s Round 10.
BULEGA STAYS HOT: All-Italian finish in Australia’s Superpole Race
Nicolo Bulega had much more competition than in his blowout Race 1 win, however still claimed P1 by a 2.3s margin ahead of Andrea Iannone. Bulega looks ahead to the final race of the round where he now has the chance to claim his first ever WorldSBK hat-trick. Iannone was tenacious in his leap into the first corner, jumping up from P6 into P2. He nipped at Bulega’s heels in the first laps of the race, posing the greatest threat of the session. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) rounded out the podium, and while a gap separated him from Bulega and Iannone in the top two sports, he did well to hold on to P3 from a spirited attack from Scott Redding (MGM Bonovo). Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista saw their Superpole sessions squandered as they both ran wide through the gravel and onto the grass in Lap 1’s Turn 4, ruining both their placements.
TWO ENGLISH RIDERS IN TOP 5: Sam Lowes claims P5
Scott Redding once again found himself in the midst of the action and clashing with the other Independent Ducati’s, this time battling with Danilo Petrucci for P3. As Petrucci pulled away later in the race, the hunter became the hunted as Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) challenged his fellow Englishman for his P4 position. Sam Lowes rose to the occasion and landed his best-ever race result in World Superbike, his prior best being a P6 in last year’s Race 2 in Assen. Andrea Locatelli did what he does at Phillip Island and secured another strong result, this time a P6 to score four points in the Championship.
BOTH BIMOTAS IN POINTS: Yari Montella scores his first-ever WorldSBK Points
The returning Bimota project saw their riders once again finish within close proximity, Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani both finished within the points in P7 and P9 respectively. Between them, Rookie Yari Montella showed his caliber as a rider and claimed his first-ever points in WorldSBK, a feather in the cap of the young Italian as he will look forward to building on this momentum.
GERLOFF’S RACE ENDED: Crash ends his day early
Garrett Gerloff fell victim to a hectic Lap 2 Turn 6, a congested corner entry for the grid saw Gerloff wipe out and his bike slid off the track, mechanically inhibiting his bike and the Texan rider from continuing. In the same encounter, Honda HRC rider Tetsuta Nagashima crashed as well. He finished the lap, came to the pits early and called it a day in his second lap. Xavi Vierge crossed the finish line in P9, however after a penalty for irresponsible riding was applied, he was knocked down to P13.
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No MotoAmerica team has more experience at the Podium Club than the Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing team and on the first day of the two-day MotoAmerica Dunlop preseason test, it showed with teammates Bobby Fong and Jake Gagne one-two at day’s end.
It was Fong who led the way with his 1:26.13, a time that broke his own lap record set last year during a test session on the Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1 in what Fong said were “perfect conditions.” Today may not have been perfect, but the conditions were ideal with 80-degree temperatures and a slight breeze.
“The test today went good and I went faster than I did the last time we were here,” Fong said. “We’ve been working through a lot of different chassis stuff on the R1. I got comfortable pretty easy because I raced a Yamaha last year. The team and I are working well together, and I feel very comfortable so I’m looking forward to continuing the progress and starting the season strong.”
Fong’s best put him .493 of a second ahead of his teammate and three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne, who lapped a 1:27.106.
Gagne’s quick lap put him slightly ahead of Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier, who was enjoying his first day at the Podium Club. The five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion only recently inked his contract to remain with the team, which has been downsized to just a one-man Superbike team.
Fourth-fastest on day one at the 2.32-mile Podium Club course was Sean Dylan Kelly in his first ride on the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000r after a late off-season team change. Kelly, who was working out of a van with a skeleton crew that included his crew chief Jeremy Toye, said the team only decided to the attend the test a day prior to it starting.
Meanwhile, Andrew Lee was the fastest of the two OrangeCat Racing Stock 1000-spec BMWs with Lee .399 of a second quicker than his teammate Jayson Uribe.
Josh Herrin was the fastest of the Supersport testers with the two-time AMA Superbike Champion riding the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Panigale V2 on which he will be trying to win his fourth Daytona 200 title in a few weeks.
Herrin’s pseudo-teammate Cameron Petersen was the second-fastest Supersport rider on his first outing on the Celtic/Economy Lube+Tire/Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V2, though his day ended early in the final session of the day with a tipover in turn one.
The test was divided into two groups, A and B, and it was SDI Racing’s Petersen who led Group B on the team’s Mission King Of The Baggers Indian Challenger with the South African’s 1:32.639 besting MP13 Racing’s Aiden Sneed. Wristin Grigg ended the day third-fastest in that group on his Celtic/Economy Lube+Tire/Warhorse HSBK Ducati Panigale V2. Petersen was the only rider on a Bagger on day one.
Today was also Petersen’s first day back on a motorcycle since he tested for the factory Indian Motorcycle team at the Podium Club at the end of last year. Petersen said he was a bit worn out at the end of day one after pulling double duty with the Indian and his Supersport Ducati Panigale V2.
Arthur C. Chambers, a San Francisco lawyer and motorcycle racer who started racing with AFM and competed in the early days of AMA Pro Superbike, died November 24th, 2024 at age 80. According to the Marin County Sheriff’s Department Coroner’s Division, the cause of death was Stage Four Lung Cancer; Chambers did not smoke currently, but had smoked for 20+ years before quitting when he was 42.
Chambers started racing in the late 1960s, served in the Army Reserve during the Vietnam War, went to law school, and started his law practice in 1972. He won several class-action lawsuits early on but in later years specialized in employment law, also working on cases involving intellectual property and the commercial use of image and name without permission. He recently retired from practicing law and lived in Novato with his wife Diane, who survives him.
He was a licensed pilot and over the years often flew his twin-engine plane to events and business meetings.
Chambers’ long-time friend Steve McLaughlin, (a racer and promoter), said, “Art helped a lot of people when they needed help. He was very generous with his time, especially with motorcycle racers, and he loved our sport.” Chambers was a member of the Southern California-based Trailblazers Motorcycle Club, a 501(c)(3) non-profit fraternal group of racers, enthusiasts and business people in the motorcycle industry.
May he rest in peace.
A relatively recent photo of Art Chambers (R.I.P.) on the right and Steve McLaughlin on the left. Photo courtesy Steve McLaughlin.Art Chambers pulls his updated 1973 Beechcraft Baron 58 twin-engine airplane out of its hangar in Northern California. Photo courtesy Steve McLaughlin.
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is back with a bang! Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) blazed around the track in Australia’s Race 1, followed by Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in P2, and Alvaro Bautista in P3. The Australian Round’s Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit played host to a dream start to the season for 2024 runner-up Nicolo Bulega, as he crossed the finish line with an almost five second gap ahead of the next rider.
Nicolo Bulega capitalized on his Tissot Superpole win, holding off the rest of the grid as he claimed the holeshot. Turn 1 was the closet any rider ended up coming to the Italian sophomore star, finishing with a margin of 4.811s ahead of 2024 World Champions Toprak Razgatlioglu For his part, Toprak looked more comfortable atop his new BMW M 1000 RR, battling with Alvaro Bautista, Andrea Iannone and Scott Redding in the laps preceding the mandatory Pit Intervention, Razgatlioglu finished P2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) looked to be similarly growing in confidence with his setup, tenaciously defending his podium spot from persistent overtake attempts from Scott Redding, Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Iannone.
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) was composed as ever in Race 1’s return to WorldSBK action. Starting out in P5, he weathered assaults from a resurgent Scott Redding and rival Andrea Iannone to finish P4 and once again finished top among Independent riders in P4. Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) showed glimpses of his 2021 Ducati-riding form in Race 1, leapfrogging Bautista and Toprak at points to take P3, however a late move from Petrucci in Turn 1 of Lap 18 narrowly prevented him from claiming the day’s top Independent position. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) looked strong to start the contest, claiming P2 exiting the first corner of Lap 1. ‘The Maniac’ lost much of this early momentum however as he appeared to have an issue with his bike in Turn 4 of Lap 2, dropping from P2 to P6 in an instant as he hesitated entering the corner. Later on in the early running, he showed similar signs of a problem with his setup as he ran wide into Turn 1 of Lap 3. Much of his best riding on the day came after the pit stop, where he recuperated positions to finish P6.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) carried the Yamaha flag in Race 1, representing for his team after teammate Johnathan Rea suffered multiple foot fractures in testing earlier this week. The Italian rider came home in P7, finishing ahead of Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team). Lowes’s P8 and Axel Bassani’s (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) P9 atop the new KB998 Rimini is no small feat for the returning manufacturer and will provide a strong base result to improve upon as the season continues. Alex Lowes was assessed a 0.6s penalty for an early departure from the pit lane, a penalty which had he avoided, he would have been only 0.096s behind Locatelli. Bassani especially has many positives he can take away from the race, his start in P14 nullified by strong riding taking up to P7 before his trip to the pits. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) finished in P10, claiming the spot from Xavi Vierge early in the race after a long battle which Lowes eventually came out on top.
Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) finished the season-opening Race 1 in P11 as his teammate was ruled out with a broken metatarsal in his left foot in Free Practice 3. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was the second-fastest Yamaha on the day as his teammate Remy Gardner was forced out with a technical issue. The Swiss rider finished 12th. In P13, Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) finished top among the 2025 rookies after a Yari Montella’s crash, and Zaqhwan Zaidi’s (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) failure to qualify, and Bahattin Sofuoglu’s P15 finish. Replacement rider Tetsuda Nagashima (Honda HRC) was filling in for the injured Iker Lecuona, and notched a P14 finish to score points for team Honda HRC. Still recovering from his broken collarbone suffered in preseason testing, Bahattin Sofuoglu was able to round out the point-scoring positions in P15. Rounding out the grid who finished the race, Scotsman Tarran Mackenzie finished P16 for Petronas MIE Honda Racing Team.
Italian Rookie Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) saw his first-ever WorldSBK Race end in after a single lap, taking a spill in Turn 1 of his second lap, a disappointment for the freshman rider as he had impressed in testing earlier this week. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) watched his first race in green from the pit as a tech issue ruled him out early, being forced to retire in Lap 7. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) lost control of his bike heading into the fast Turn 1 in his ninth lap, walking away uninjured but ending his race. The Dutchman’s bike slid out from under him and cartwheeled into the gravel. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) suffered a tech issue as he flew into the straightaway, spewing a plume of white smoke as he rode off onto the grass beside the track, retiring at the end of Lap 12.
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) continued to be the rider to beat during the Australian Round as the 2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season’s first competitive session ended with the #11 on pole. He was just under a tenth ahead of rival Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) after the reigning Champion followed last year’s title runner up on track to set his hot lap during Tissot Superpole at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.
Nicolo Bulega (11). Photo courtesy WorldSBK.com.
Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) crashed at Turn 9 with 11 minutes remaining in Superpole on his first flying lap which briefly brought out the red flags, with the #7 was taken to the medical centre for a check-up, being later diagnosed with a fractured fourth metatarsal in his left foot, leaving Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) leading the timesheets with a 1’30.232s. Several pole favourites hadn’t been able to set a lap time, including Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who had topped every session leading into Superpole.
When the session resumed, Bulega jumped into P1 with a 1’29.058s; a slower time than he’d managed in Free Practice before he improved to a 1’28.824s. Sending an ominious warning shot to his rivals, ‘Bulegas’ set his pole time using a used SC1 tyre; the harder of the two solutions available to the riders. On that lap, he was followed by Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) who used the tow from the #11 to move into second, and just 0.094s behind the Ducati star, with a 1’28.918s; only the second rider to break into the 1’28s bracket this weekend as the #1 used the SC0 tyre. Neither were able to improve their lap times further as they secured the first two places on the grid, with Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) securing a front row start to take third place with a 1’29.266s. Bulega’s pole position was the 46th for an Italian rider in WorldSBK.
Iannone’s lap demoted Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) into fourth place with a 1’29.520s securing the #19’s place at the head of the second row; a big improvement from 2024 when he was ninth on the grid. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) will line up alongside the double Champion as he took fifth place while Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) will start from the second row after finding big improvements throughout Saturday’s running.
Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) put both BMWs in the top seven by claiming P7 to lead away the third row, leading a duo of Yamaha riders. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) were closely matched in Superpole in eighth and ninth, with just half-a-tenth separating the pair as they also secured third row starts for the Yamaha R1 machine. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) completes the top ten as the lead Bimota rider.
Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) just missed out on a top ten start by just 0.011s after twin brother Alex got the better of him. Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) secured 12th place ahead of the first of the four rookies on the grid. Montella claimed 13th place with a 1’29.962s and, although he was 1.138s away from pole, he was just seven tenths away from a front row start during a close session. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) was 14th with Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) completing the top 15.
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) topped Saturday morning action for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship as he lapped in the 1’28s. The Italian star has been fastest in every session of the Australian Round so far and was two tenths clear of his rivals as the first race day of the 2025 season started at the iconic Phillip Island Grand Circuit. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) appears to have closed the gap to the #11 with just two tenths separating the pair.
Bulega was straight into the 1’28.936s on his first flying lap in the 20-minute session, and it looked like he would improve on his second lap – up after three sectors – before falling just short. He did improve on this third flying lap to a 1’28.903s and remained the only rider to lap in the 1’29s bracket, although Razgatlioglu did edge closer to it. The #1 set a 1’29.106s to lap two tenths slower than his title rival from 2024, but with a much smaller gap to Bulega compared to Friday’s action. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) put in a late 1’29.128s to move into third place, 0.022s behind Razgatlioglu in P2 and 0.225s slower than his teammate in first.
Another rider who put in a late lap was Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) as he posted a 1’29.226s to secure P4, lapping just three tenths away from the #11. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) secured fifth with a 1’29.308s, although he didn’t improve his time compared to his Friday effort. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) was sixth as he put Bimota in the top six, finishing directly ahead of twin brother Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) in seventh, with less than a tenth separating the pair.
Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) lapped in the 1’29s bracket for the first time this weekend as he set a 1’29.500s to secure P8 after appearing to make a big step forward, with Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was ninth as the lead Yamaha rider. The home hero set a 1’29.565s for ninth with Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) rounding out the top ten. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) was 11th and lapped 0.783s, with the top 11 separated by less than eight tenths. Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) was 17th after he crashed at Turn 8 in FP3, with the Brit taken to the medical centre for a check-up.
West launches into 2025 ASBK Championship in fine style
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.
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.
Josh Waters brushed aside concerns of a recently broken collarbone with his strong pace. Image by RbMotoLens
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.
Albury’s Archie McDonald is galvanised for a massive Kawasaki Supersport opening round. Image by Russell Colvin
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.
Race and Road Supersport 300 Race One podium: (L to R) Jordy Simpson, Tara Morrison and Scott Nicholson. Image by RbMotoLens
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.
Early in 300 Supersport Race One, Scott Nicholson (39) leads Jordy Simpson (33) and winner Tara Morrison (95) at Phillip Island. Image by RbMotoLens
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.
Warm, sunny skies and just a hint of a breeze greeted racers on the first day of the two-day official pre-season MotoAmerica test at The Podium Club in Casa Grande, Arizona. Representatives from Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha Racing, Team Hammer, Tytlers Cycle Racing, Warhorse HSBC Racing Ducati and OrangeCat Racing joined privateers in lapping the 2.32-mile circuit, located between Phoenix and Tuscon.
The Warhorse HSBC squad had three Ducati V2 Panigale racebikes on hand for Wristin Grigg, new signee Cameron Petersen and defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Josh Herrin. The squad was prepping Herrin for the upcoming Daytona 200, while Petersen and Grigg were testing for the regular season. Petersen had a small crash in Turn One toward the end of the day, but his team said Petersen was happy with the bike in his first outing on the V-twin.
Cameron Petersen (45). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Multi-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne continued his return to action following his hiatus for the last two races of the 2024 season to recuperate from injury.
Jake Gagne (32). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Cameron Beaubier, who also missed races last season due to injury, was back in action. Beaubier said his goal for the test was just getting re-acclimated to the speed of a full-blown Superbike.
Cameron Beaubier (6). Photo by Michael Gougis,
Bobby Fong continued his work with the Attack squad, who picked him up after Fong won two races last season on a satellite Yamaha. Fong says the change isn’t so much in the machine as it is in the routine of working to develop a factory-supported racebike.
Bobby Fong (50). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Sean Dylan Kelly was happy with his second day on the Team Hammer Suzuki GSX-1000R, praising the bike’s speed but looking for more stability in the chassis. Dylan took part in an earlier Dunlop test at the track.
Sean Dylan Kelly. Photo by Michael Gougis.
OrangeCat Racing’s Andrew Lee and Jason Uribe worked with their 2024 Stock 1000 BMW M 1000 RR machines. The 2025 machines from Alpha Racing are still under construction and development and are scheduled to appear later in the year.
Andrew Lee (14). Photo by Michael Gougis.Jason Uribe (36). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Marcel Schroetter (23), Tom Booth-Amos (69), Valentin Debise (53) and Oliver Bayliss (32) At Phillip Island, Race 1. Photo courtesy WSBK.com
Tom Booth-Amos won FIM Supersport World Championship Race Two Sunday at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, in Australia. Riding his PTR Triumph Factory Racing Street Triple RS 765, the Brit won the 18-lap race by 0.671 seconds.
Stefano Manzi was a close second on his Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing YZF R9, and Bo Bendsneyder got third on his MV Agusta Reparto Corse F3 800 RR.
Former MotoAmerica regular Valentin Debise crashed his Renzi Corse Ducati Panigale V2 on turn 1.
The final WorldSSP race of the Australian Round was a stunning affair as a new name stood on the top of the podium
Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) is now a FIM Supersport World Championship race winner after taking Triumph to the top step of the rostrum at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. The #69 took the British manufacturer’s second win in the Championship as he secured his second podium of the weekend during the Australian Round.
FIRST-TIME WINNER: Booth-Amos claims his first ever victory, Manzi P2
Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) etched his name into the list of FIM Supersport World Championship race winners as he tops the podium for his first-ever WorldSSP win at Race 2 in Australia. With his win, Booth-Amos becomes the fourth-ever rider to win a race in both World Supersport and World Supersport 300. He and Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) traded places from Race 1’s podium, as Manzi led the race for long stretches but was outpaced in the Gardner Straight by Booth-Amos to give up P1. Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) avoided much of the chaos at the front of the grid by nature of his poor start to the race. Having started the race in pole position, Bendsneyder fell to P13 only a few turns into Lap 1. He gritted his teeth and climbed back up the timesheet to round out the rostrum in P3.
RINALDI BACK IN THE MIX: Michael Rinaldi P4, teammate Mahias P6
Atop the new Yamaha R9, GMT94 Yamaha teammates Michael Rinaldi and Lucas Mahias had a strong showing in Race 2, especially in the case of Rinaldi, who had not shown the same pace as Mahias in prior races this weekend. Splitting the two Yamaha teammates, in P5, Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki Racing Team) crossed the finish line in P3, however after applying his 6.78s Pit Lane Intervention time penalty, he was sent down the grid into P6.
HOMEGROWN TALENT P7: Bayliss, Cardelus, Toba, Vostatek round out top 10
Oli Bayliss represented for the home crowd and claimed a P7, making it a very successful day for the PTR Triumph Factory Racing Team. Xavi Cardelus (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) recovered well from running off the track to avoid the Debise/Masia crash, climbing back up the track to P8. Kaito Toba (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) finished in P9, the fastest Honda on the day. Ondrej Vostatek (WRP Racing) was assessed a 0.765s penalty for an early departure from pit lane, however still managed to crack the top 10, more than 2.5s ahead of Luke Power (Motozoo Me air Racing)
WOULD-BE PODIUM WOES: Debise, Masia, Schroetter crash out of race from podium positions
Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse) and Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) were in the heat of battle for the podium positions throughput the first half of the race and upon the exit of the Pit Intervention. Their podium dreams were dashed however as upon their Turn 1 entry, Masia clipped his rear tyre, sending the pair of them sliding into the gravel at high speed. Both bikes were badly damaged after the collision, and both riders were sent to the medical centre after they were each slow to get up. Masia was diagnosed with minor scrapes and contusions, but Debise was diagnosed with a more serious lateral malleolus fracture on his right ankle. Marcel Schroetter (WRP Racing) found himself in P1 after passing the crash site, a position he wasn’t able to capitalise on as at Turn 11 of the same lap, Schroetter low-sided out of the race, and caused Xavi Cardelus to fall to P14 in the as he took avoiding action. Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Racing) competed well, hanging around the top five including an impressive battle with Manzi, however, his race result betrayed this effort as a late low-side crash knocked him down the results list to P16, outside scoring positions.
Alvaro Bautista (19), Scott Redding (45), Danilo Petrucci (9), Andrea Iannone (29) and Andrea Locatelli (55) At Phillip Island, in Australia. Photo courtesy WSBK.COM
Nicolò Bulega won the World Superbike Superpole Race Sunday morning at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, in Australia. Riding his Aruba.It Racing – Ducati Panigale V4R on spec Pirelli tires, the Italian racer won the 10-lap race by 2.324 seconds.
Andrea Iannone was the runner-up on his Team Pata Go Eleven Ducati Panigale V4R, and Danilo Petrucci made it an all-Ducati podium by placing third on his Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati Panigale V4R.
Defending World Champion, Toprak Razgatlioglu, finished 13th after running off the track on turn 4 on his ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team M1000RR.
American Garrett Gerloff crashed his Kawasaki WorldSBK Team ZX-10RR on turn 6.
A chaotic Superpole Race at Phillip Island features Bulega again P1 and low finishes from Razgatlioglu and Bautista.
Nicolo Bulega makes it two for two so far in this weekend’s races, holding off Andrea Iannone in P2.
2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship runner up Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) dominated once again in the Tissot Superpole Race. The Italian rider in his sophomore season has been on fire out of the gates, once again finishing P1. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) recovered from his disappointing P6 result in race 1, giving Bulega a run for his money before he pulled away. A chaotic Turn 4 fracas saw Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Racing Team) and Alvaro Baustista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) run off track, hurting their race placement. Razgatlioglu’s P14 finish spelled the end of his streak of P1 or P2 finishes, stretching all the way back to his return from injury in Aragon in 2024’s Round 10.
BULEGA STAYS HOT: All-Italian finish in Australia’s Superpole Race
Nicolo Bulega had much more competition than in his blowout Race 1 win, however still claimed P1 by a 2.3s margin ahead of Andrea Iannone. Bulega looks ahead to the final race of the round where he now has the chance to claim his first ever WorldSBK hat-trick. Iannone was tenacious in his leap into the first corner, jumping up from P6 into P2. He nipped at Bulega’s heels in the first laps of the race, posing the greatest threat of the session. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) rounded out the podium, and while a gap separated him from Bulega and Iannone in the top two sports, he did well to hold on to P3 from a spirited attack from Scott Redding (MGM Bonovo). Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista saw their Superpole sessions squandered as they both ran wide through the gravel and onto the grass in Lap 1’s Turn 4, ruining both their placements.
TWO ENGLISH RIDERS IN TOP 5: Sam Lowes claims P5
Scott Redding once again found himself in the midst of the action and clashing with the other Independent Ducati’s, this time battling with Danilo Petrucci for P3. As Petrucci pulled away later in the race, the hunter became the hunted as Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) challenged his fellow Englishman for his P4 position. Sam Lowes rose to the occasion and landed his best-ever race result in World Superbike, his prior best being a P6 in last year’s Race 2 in Assen. Andrea Locatelli did what he does at Phillip Island and secured another strong result, this time a P6 to score four points in the Championship.
BOTH BIMOTAS IN POINTS: Yari Montella scores his first-ever WorldSBK Points
The returning Bimota project saw their riders once again finish within close proximity, Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani both finished within the points in P7 and P9 respectively. Between them, Rookie Yari Montella showed his caliber as a rider and claimed his first-ever points in WorldSBK, a feather in the cap of the young Italian as he will look forward to building on this momentum.
GERLOFF’S RACE ENDED: Crash ends his day early
Garrett Gerloff fell victim to a hectic Lap 2 Turn 6, a congested corner entry for the grid saw Gerloff wipe out and his bike slid off the track, mechanically inhibiting his bike and the Texan rider from continuing. In the same encounter, Honda HRC rider Tetsuta Nagashima crashed as well. He finished the lap, came to the pits early and called it a day in his second lap. Xavi Vierge crossed the finish line in P9, however after a penalty for irresponsible riding was applied, he was knocked down to P13.
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No MotoAmerica team has more experience at the Podium Club than the Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing team and on the first day of the two-day MotoAmerica Dunlop preseason test, it showed with teammates Bobby Fong and Jake Gagne one-two at day’s end.
It was Fong who led the way with his 1:26.13, a time that broke his own lap record set last year during a test session on the Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1 in what Fong said were “perfect conditions.” Today may not have been perfect, but the conditions were ideal with 80-degree temperatures and a slight breeze.
“The test today went good and I went faster than I did the last time we were here,” Fong said. “We’ve been working through a lot of different chassis stuff on the R1. I got comfortable pretty easy because I raced a Yamaha last year. The team and I are working well together, and I feel very comfortable so I’m looking forward to continuing the progress and starting the season strong.”
Fong’s best put him .493 of a second ahead of his teammate and three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne, who lapped a 1:27.106.
Gagne’s quick lap put him slightly ahead of Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier, who was enjoying his first day at the Podium Club. The five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion only recently inked his contract to remain with the team, which has been downsized to just a one-man Superbike team.
Fourth-fastest on day one at the 2.32-mile Podium Club course was Sean Dylan Kelly in his first ride on the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000r after a late off-season team change. Kelly, who was working out of a van with a skeleton crew that included his crew chief Jeremy Toye, said the team only decided to the attend the test a day prior to it starting.
Meanwhile, Andrew Lee was the fastest of the two OrangeCat Racing Stock 1000-spec BMWs with Lee .399 of a second quicker than his teammate Jayson Uribe.
Josh Herrin was the fastest of the Supersport testers with the two-time AMA Superbike Champion riding the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Panigale V2 on which he will be trying to win his fourth Daytona 200 title in a few weeks.
Herrin’s pseudo-teammate Cameron Petersen was the second-fastest Supersport rider on his first outing on the Celtic/Economy Lube+Tire/Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V2, though his day ended early in the final session of the day with a tipover in turn one.
The test was divided into two groups, A and B, and it was SDI Racing’s Petersen who led Group B on the team’s Mission King Of The Baggers Indian Challenger with the South African’s 1:32.639 besting MP13 Racing’s Aiden Sneed. Wristin Grigg ended the day third-fastest in that group on his Celtic/Economy Lube+Tire/Warhorse HSBK Ducati Panigale V2. Petersen was the only rider on a Bagger on day one.
Today was also Petersen’s first day back on a motorcycle since he tested for the factory Indian Motorcycle team at the Podium Club at the end of last year. Petersen said he was a bit worn out at the end of day one after pulling double duty with the Indian and his Supersport Ducati Panigale V2.
Art Chambers (102) in a WERA sprint race at Las Vegas Raceway in November, 1976. Photo by John Ulrich, copyright 2011, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
Arthur C. Chambers, a San Francisco lawyer and motorcycle racer who started racing with AFM and competed in the early days of AMA Pro Superbike, died November 24th, 2024 at age 80. According to the Marin County Sheriff’s Department Coroner’s Division, the cause of death was Stage Four Lung Cancer; Chambers did not smoke currently, but had smoked for 20+ years before quitting when he was 42.
Chambers started racing in the late 1960s, served in the Army Reserve during the Vietnam War, went to law school, and started his law practice in 1972. He won several class-action lawsuits early on but in later years specialized in employment law, also working on cases involving intellectual property and the commercial use of image and name without permission. He recently retired from practicing law and lived in Novato with his wife Diane, who survives him.
He was a licensed pilot and over the years often flew his twin-engine plane to events and business meetings.
Chambers’ long-time friend Steve McLaughlin, (a racer and promoter), said, “Art helped a lot of people when they needed help. He was very generous with his time, especially with motorcycle racers, and he loved our sport.” Chambers was a member of the Southern California-based Trailblazers Motorcycle Club, a 501(c)(3) non-profit fraternal group of racers, enthusiasts and business people in the motorcycle industry.
May he rest in peace.
A relatively recent photo of Art Chambers (R.I.P.) on the right and Steve McLaughlin on the left. Photo courtesy Steve McLaughlin.Art Chambers pulls his updated 1973 Beechcraft Baron 58 twin-engine airplane out of its hangar in Northern California. Photo courtesy Steve McLaughlin.
Phillip Island Circuit. Photo courtesy Phillip Island Circuit Website.
Nicolo Bulega (11). Photo courtesy WorldSBK.com
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is back with a bang! Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) blazed around the track in Australia’s Race 1, followed by Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in P2, and Alvaro Bautista in P3. The Australian Round’s Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit played host to a dream start to the season for 2024 runner-up Nicolo Bulega, as he crossed the finish line with an almost five second gap ahead of the next rider.
Nicolo Bulega capitalized on his Tissot Superpole win, holding off the rest of the grid as he claimed the holeshot. Turn 1 was the closet any rider ended up coming to the Italian sophomore star, finishing with a margin of 4.811s ahead of 2024 World Champions Toprak Razgatlioglu For his part, Toprak looked more comfortable atop his new BMW M 1000 RR, battling with Alvaro Bautista, Andrea Iannone and Scott Redding in the laps preceding the mandatory Pit Intervention, Razgatlioglu finished P2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) looked to be similarly growing in confidence with his setup, tenaciously defending his podium spot from persistent overtake attempts from Scott Redding, Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Iannone.
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) was composed as ever in Race 1’s return to WorldSBK action. Starting out in P5, he weathered assaults from a resurgent Scott Redding and rival Andrea Iannone to finish P4 and once again finished top among Independent riders in P4. Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) showed glimpses of his 2021 Ducati-riding form in Race 1, leapfrogging Bautista and Toprak at points to take P3, however a late move from Petrucci in Turn 1 of Lap 18 narrowly prevented him from claiming the day’s top Independent position. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) looked strong to start the contest, claiming P2 exiting the first corner of Lap 1. ‘The Maniac’ lost much of this early momentum however as he appeared to have an issue with his bike in Turn 4 of Lap 2, dropping from P2 to P6 in an instant as he hesitated entering the corner. Later on in the early running, he showed similar signs of a problem with his setup as he ran wide into Turn 1 of Lap 3. Much of his best riding on the day came after the pit stop, where he recuperated positions to finish P6.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) carried the Yamaha flag in Race 1, representing for his team after teammate Johnathan Rea suffered multiple foot fractures in testing earlier this week. The Italian rider came home in P7, finishing ahead of Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team). Lowes’s P8 and Axel Bassani’s (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) P9 atop the new KB998 Rimini is no small feat for the returning manufacturer and will provide a strong base result to improve upon as the season continues. Alex Lowes was assessed a 0.6s penalty for an early departure from the pit lane, a penalty which had he avoided, he would have been only 0.096s behind Locatelli. Bassani especially has many positives he can take away from the race, his start in P14 nullified by strong riding taking up to P7 before his trip to the pits. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) finished in P10, claiming the spot from Xavi Vierge early in the race after a long battle which Lowes eventually came out on top.
Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) finished the season-opening Race 1 in P11 as his teammate was ruled out with a broken metatarsal in his left foot in Free Practice 3. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was the second-fastest Yamaha on the day as his teammate Remy Gardner was forced out with a technical issue. The Swiss rider finished 12th. In P13, Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) finished top among the 2025 rookies after a Yari Montella’s crash, and Zaqhwan Zaidi’s (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) failure to qualify, and Bahattin Sofuoglu’s P15 finish. Replacement rider Tetsuda Nagashima (Honda HRC) was filling in for the injured Iker Lecuona, and notched a P14 finish to score points for team Honda HRC. Still recovering from his broken collarbone suffered in preseason testing, Bahattin Sofuoglu was able to round out the point-scoring positions in P15. Rounding out the grid who finished the race, Scotsman Tarran Mackenzie finished P16 for Petronas MIE Honda Racing Team.
Italian Rookie Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) saw his first-ever WorldSBK Race end in after a single lap, taking a spill in Turn 1 of his second lap, a disappointment for the freshman rider as he had impressed in testing earlier this week. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) watched his first race in green from the pit as a tech issue ruled him out early, being forced to retire in Lap 7. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) lost control of his bike heading into the fast Turn 1 in his ninth lap, walking away uninjured but ending his race. The Dutchman’s bike slid out from under him and cartwheeled into the gravel. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) suffered a tech issue as he flew into the straightaway, spewing a plume of white smoke as he rode off onto the grass beside the track, retiring at the end of Lap 12.
Phillip Island Circuit. Photo courtesy Phillip Island Circuit Website.
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) continued to be the rider to beat during the Australian Round as the 2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season’s first competitive session ended with the #11 on pole. He was just under a tenth ahead of rival Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) after the reigning Champion followed last year’s title runner up on track to set his hot lap during Tissot Superpole at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.
Nicolo Bulega (11). Photo courtesy WorldSBK.com.
Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) crashed at Turn 9 with 11 minutes remaining in Superpole on his first flying lap which briefly brought out the red flags, with the #7 was taken to the medical centre for a check-up, being later diagnosed with a fractured fourth metatarsal in his left foot, leaving Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) leading the timesheets with a 1’30.232s. Several pole favourites hadn’t been able to set a lap time, including Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who had topped every session leading into Superpole.
When the session resumed, Bulega jumped into P1 with a 1’29.058s; a slower time than he’d managed in Free Practice before he improved to a 1’28.824s. Sending an ominious warning shot to his rivals, ‘Bulegas’ set his pole time using a used SC1 tyre; the harder of the two solutions available to the riders. On that lap, he was followed by Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) who used the tow from the #11 to move into second, and just 0.094s behind the Ducati star, with a 1’28.918s; only the second rider to break into the 1’28s bracket this weekend as the #1 used the SC0 tyre. Neither were able to improve their lap times further as they secured the first two places on the grid, with Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) securing a front row start to take third place with a 1’29.266s. Bulega’s pole position was the 46th for an Italian rider in WorldSBK.
Iannone’s lap demoted Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) into fourth place with a 1’29.520s securing the #19’s place at the head of the second row; a big improvement from 2024 when he was ninth on the grid. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) will line up alongside the double Champion as he took fifth place while Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) will start from the second row after finding big improvements throughout Saturday’s running.
Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) put both BMWs in the top seven by claiming P7 to lead away the third row, leading a duo of Yamaha riders. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) were closely matched in Superpole in eighth and ninth, with just half-a-tenth separating the pair as they also secured third row starts for the Yamaha R1 machine. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) completes the top ten as the lead Bimota rider.
Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) just missed out on a top ten start by just 0.011s after twin brother Alex got the better of him. Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) secured 12th place ahead of the first of the four rookies on the grid. Montella claimed 13th place with a 1’29.962s and, although he was 1.138s away from pole, he was just seven tenths away from a front row start during a close session. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) was 14th with Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) completing the top 15.
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) topped Saturday morning action for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship as he lapped in the 1’28s. The Italian star has been fastest in every session of the Australian Round so far and was two tenths clear of his rivals as the first race day of the 2025 season started at the iconic Phillip Island Grand Circuit. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) appears to have closed the gap to the #11 with just two tenths separating the pair.
Bulega was straight into the 1’28.936s on his first flying lap in the 20-minute session, and it looked like he would improve on his second lap – up after three sectors – before falling just short. He did improve on this third flying lap to a 1’28.903s and remained the only rider to lap in the 1’29s bracket, although Razgatlioglu did edge closer to it. The #1 set a 1’29.106s to lap two tenths slower than his title rival from 2024, but with a much smaller gap to Bulega compared to Friday’s action. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) put in a late 1’29.128s to move into third place, 0.022s behind Razgatlioglu in P2 and 0.225s slower than his teammate in first.
Another rider who put in a late lap was Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) as he posted a 1’29.226s to secure P4, lapping just three tenths away from the #11. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) secured fifth with a 1’29.308s, although he didn’t improve his time compared to his Friday effort. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) was sixth as he put Bimota in the top six, finishing directly ahead of twin brother Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) in seventh, with less than a tenth separating the pair.
Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) lapped in the 1’29s bracket for the first time this weekend as he set a 1’29.500s to secure P8 after appearing to make a big step forward, with Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was ninth as the lead Yamaha rider. The home hero set a 1’29.565s for ninth with Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) rounding out the top ten. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) was 11th and lapped 0.783s, with the top 11 separated by less than eight tenths. Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) was 17th after he crashed at Turn 8 in FP3, with the Brit taken to the medical centre for a check-up.
Anthony West was the pacesetter in the SW-MOTECH Australian Superbike class. Image by RbMotoLens
West launches into 2025 ASBK Championship in fine style
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.
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.
Josh Waters brushed aside concerns of a recently broken collarbone with his strong pace. Image by RbMotoLens
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.
Albury’s Archie McDonald is galvanised for a massive Kawasaki Supersport opening round. Image by Russell Colvin
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.
Race and Road Supersport 300 Race One podium: (L to R) Jordy Simpson, Tara Morrison and Scott Nicholson. Image by RbMotoLens
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.
Early in 300 Supersport Race One, Scott Nicholson (39) leads Jordy Simpson (33) and winner Tara Morrison (95) at Phillip Island. Image by RbMotoLens
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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Accessibility
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Accessibility Statement
www.roadracingworld.com
June 13, 2025
Compliance status
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience,
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This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific
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Screen-reader and keyboard navigation
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with
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alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website.
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Disability profiles supported in our website
Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
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Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
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We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
