Waters pips Jones with stunning late flyer at Queensland Raceway
Defending champion Josh Waters’ competitive instincts came to the fore with a brilliant final flurry to set the practice pace in round three of the 2025 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) at Queensland Raceway.
Sitting behind arch-rival Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) for most of the final SW-Motech Superbike practice session, Waters (McMartin Racing Ducati) let loose with a stunning 1m07.181s lap in the dying seconds to annex top spot.
Jones (1:07.248), the current master around Queensland Raceway, would also be pleased with his Friday output in what is shaping as one of the most hard-fought Superbike rounds in recent memory.
The pace was also red-hot in the other ASBK classes – Kawasaki Supersport, Race and Road Supersport 300, ShopYamaha R3 Cup and the BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup – with the intensity only set to increase over the weekend.
Qualifying will lead into a huge 13-race program, and there will also be plenty of opportunities for fans to interact with riders and teams in autograph sessions and a huge pit lane walk on Sunday.
ASBK’s stunt master, Tjay Stuntz, will also ply his trade across the weekend, while fans can also grab a bargain at the ASBK Trade Alley.
Related:
Jones eyeing off dominant Waters at his ASBK happy hunting ground
Josh Waters topped SW-Motech Superbike practice, but it came at the last minute. Image: Russell Colvin
SW-Motech Superbike
Waters and Jones may have captured the top two spots in practice, but there’s a stacked field of pilots all ready to pounce.
Leading the charge on Friday was Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati, 1:07.351), with Anthony West (Addicted to Track Yamaha, 1:07.459), Glenn Allerton (Superbike Advocates Ducati, 1:07.516) and Cru Halliday (Stop and Seal Yamaha, 1:07.647) all in a tight bunch.
Halliday missed a chunk of time on Friday with an electrical gremlin, while teammate Arthur Sissis (1:07.797) was in a resurgent mood as he completed practice in seventh ahead of Max Stauffer (Yamaha Racing Team, 1:08.060), Cameron Dunker (MotoGO Yamaha, 1:08.158) and Jonathan Nahlous (1:08.218) on the rebranded Omega Racing Team Yamaha.
There’s one more practice session before qualifying on Saturday afternoon – where the first 1:06 lap could be in the offing around the unique but challenging layout.
Mike Jones has laid the foundations for another high-scoring round at Queensland Raceway. Image: RbMotoLens
Kawasaki Supersport
South Aussie Olly Simpson (BCperformance Kawasaki) started and finished Friday with authority, setting the fastest time in the first and third Kawasaki Supersport practice sessions while Spanish visitor Jesus Torres Cabrera (Yamaha) shocked with the benchmark in the second.
The final act was the one that really mattered for Simpson, with his 1:11.166 putting him at the top of the timesheets ahead of Cabrera, championship leader Jack Mahaffy (Stop and Seal Yamaha), Tom Bramich (Yamaha), Hayden Nelson (BCperformance Kawasaki) and Marcus Hamod (Honda).
Simpson is the only Supersport winner at Queensland Raceway in this weekend’s field, while Mahaffy’s gritting his teeth after a bruising bingle in last weekend’s Asia Road Racing Championship opener in Thailand.
Meanwhile, Josh Newman (Addicted to Track Yamaha) was seventh as he continues to make methodical gains in his rookie Supersport season, ahead of fellow class debutante Will Nassif (Omega Racing Team Yamaha).
Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha) and Cameron Swain (Stop and Seal Yamaha) completed the top 10, with the latter missing a whole session battling quickshifter issues.
The 17-rider Supersport field will be back on track at 9:20am on Saturday for its opening qualifying session.
Olly Simpson was the Friday master in Kawasaki Supersport. Image: RbMotoLens
Race and Road Supersport 300 and ShopYamaha R3 Cup
Riley Nauta (Kawasaki) has given us snippets of his motorcycle racing skill set so far this year, but he managed to bundle it all together today as he set the pace in Race and Road Supersport 300 practice.
The 15-year-old, alongside fellow teen Hudson Thompson (Yamaha), both went under the current lap record as they put their opposition on notice ahead of the three races across Saturday and Sunday.
Tara Morrison (Kawasaki) was third overall from championship leader Scott Nicholson (Kawasaki), Valentino Knezovic (Yamaha), Jordy Simpson (Yamaha), Oscar Lewis (Yamaha) and John Pelgrave (Yamaha). Jake Paige (Kawasaki) was ninth, but within a second of his teammate Nauta.
Thirty-two riders will continue the Supersport 300 campaign on Saturday.
In the ShopYamaha R3 Cup, Simpson was fastest in practice from Thompson and Lewis.
Riley Nauta put the hammer down in Race and Road Supersport 300 practice. Image: RbMotoLens
BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup
Chaz Williams is still in a combative mood after his clean sweep in Sydney, setting the fastest lap time in two of the three BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup practice sessions.
The 10-year-old’s 1:35.576 flyer came in the final session, just shy of the existing lap record set in 2024 by Ethan Johnson.
Thomas Cameron, Connor Lewis, Phoenix O’Brien and Ghage Plowman completed the top five ahead of two qualifying sessions and race one on Saturday.
Chaz Williams was humming in the BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup. Image: RbMotoLens
