Glorious spring weather, the country’s finest circuit racers and the world-class Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at The Bend – all the ingredients are in place for an enthralling round two of the 2027 Shannons Australian Superbike Championship presented by Pirelli (ASBK) from November 13-15.

And the anticipation is off the charts, because for the first time this season the wider ASBK paddock will come together – which means the Kawasaki Supersport Next Gen, Race and Road Supersport 300 and BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup categories will be officially getting started alongside SW-Motech Superbike.

All four classes are peppered with intriguing storylines as the ground-breaking ASBK Summer Championship swings into top gear.

SW-MOTECH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

The ASBK Championship shares a strong association with The Bend, stretching back to 2018 when former sparring partners Wayne Maxwell and Troy Herfoss won the first two crackerjack Superbike races.

The Bend also has brilliant spectator facilities, including the huge welcome centre which will have some magical motorcycle racing hardware on display this weekend.

Among the 20 machines will be Chaz Davies’ 2018 Ducati Panigale R world superbike, a 1981 Marlboro Yamaha TZ500H, Peter Goddard’s Benelli Tornado Tre world superbike and Alex Marquez’ 2018 Kalex Moto2 machine. For more detailed information on the display machines, visit The Bend Facebook page.

The event will also feature the popular pit walk on Sunday, and Tjay Stuntz also returns with his unique brand of hair-raising motorcycle stunts.

All ticket holders at The Bend receive free access to the ASBK paddock, as well as free entry to the Summit Racing Equipment Track Championship on the adjoining drag strip.

Related: Event program
Related: Nahlous and Voight burst out of the ASBK blocks at Phillip Island
Related: Dunker adding 2027 Supersport campaign to Superbike duties

SW-Motech Superbike
The SW-Motech Superbike class will be wide open in South Australia, with defending champion Harrison Voight (McMartin Racing Ducati) – who currently has the edge on his opponents in terms of qualifying and race pace – an absentee while he recovers from injuries sustained in a private test at One Raceway.

Voight’s absence provides less resistance for the likes of Josh Waters (DesmoSport Ducati), newly crowned Australian flat track champion Cameron Dunker (Blue Marlin Pools East Racing Yamaha), Cru Halliday (Stop and Seal Ducati) and Glenn Allerton (Superbike Advocates Racing Ducati) to position themselves for victory – while Jonathan Nahlous (Yamaha Racing Team) has the chance to add to his tally after greeting the chequered flag at Phillip Island’s round one.

Dunker, who is third in the Superbike standings behind Voight and Nahlous, scored his first Superbike win at The Bend in May, so he’ll also be galvanised for another repeat performance – and he’s also on double duties in the Kawasaki Next Gen Superport class as he looks to become the first champion in the two classes since Jamie Stauffer way back in 2006.

Nahlous’ teammate and three-time Superbike champion Mike Jones is also a renowned speedster around The Bend with his silky-smooth style, while Olly Simpson (DesmoSport Ducati) makes his first appearance in the summer championship after recovering from injury.

Jones and Waters have both banked three Superbike wins at The Bend, with Dunker the only other Superbike rider in this weekend’s 15-rider field with a circuit victory to his name.

While one Harry may be missing from The Bend, another ‘version’ in the shape of Harry Khouri will be making his ASBK Superbike debut on an Addicted to Track Yamaha after a strong season in the Spanish Superstock 1000 title. Khouri won the Australian Supersport 300 championship in 2020 before heading overseas.

Khouri will team up with John Lytras at Addicted to Track in what is only a cameo at this stage – but a strong result may alter the outlook…

Jack Favelle (Apex Racing Team Honda) and Morgan McLaren-Wood (Blue Marlin Pools East Racing Yamaha) will also be prominent at The Bend across the two 11-lap races.

Cameron Dunker will be hoping to grab his first win of the season this weekend

Kawasaki Supersport Next Gen
The Kawasaki Next Gen Supersport Championship has all the makings of a season for the ages, with a tasty combination of youth versus experience.

The talent starts with the proven entities: Tom Toparis (SBG Racing Yamaha), Dunker (Addicted to Track Yamaha), Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha) and Tom Edwards (BCperformance Kawasaki), who are all former or current champions in the middleweight class.

Then there are the class rookies: current Supersport 300 champion Tyler King (Stop and Seal Yamaha), former Supersport 300 champion Josh Newman (Yamaha), Riley Nauta (Champion’s Ride Days Kawasaki), FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship campaigner Tayla Collins (Full Throttle Racing Yamaha) and wildcard Archie Schmidt (Unitek Racing Yamaha).

And not forgetting names like Hayden Nelson (BCperformance Kawasaki), who’s still in the racing groove after competing in the back end of the 2026 British Supersport title, Marcus Hamod (Addicted to Track Yamaha), Josh Soderland (SBG Racing Yamaha) and South Aussies Sam Pezzetta (Yamaha) and Jordy Simpson (Yamaha).

The Bend will also witness the debut of Yamaha’s YZF-R9 triple (Toparis and Soderland) in Supersport Next Gen configuration, up against 14 Yamaha YZF-R6s, three Kawasaki ZX-6Rs and a lone Ducati Panigale V2.

The two races will be held over nine laps.

Tom Edwards will be hoping to get his championship defence off to a good start at The Bend

Race and Road Supersport 300
With the top two from the 2026 Race and Road Superport 300 season stepping up (King and Nauta), Adelaide’s Tara Morrison (Kawasaki) now has her best chance to win the championship for the first time – and the first mission will be trying to gain an early ascendancy on her home deck.

Among the challengers will be Orlando Peovitis (Champion’s Ride Days Kawasaki), Seth Dellow (Yamaha), Teerin Fleming (Kawasaki) and Matthew Ritter (Yamaha), while Albury dirt track flyer Jed Fyffe (Yamaha) makes his Supersport 300 debut.

The class also welcomes a few BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup graduates, including Charlie Nichols, who traditionally don’t waste any time in making their presence felt.

There may be some regulars missing from this weekend’s grid due to conflicting commitments with the BLU CRU Asia Pacific R3 Championship in Thailand, but the intensity will still be as manic as ever.

Tara Morrison returns to her ‘home track’ this weekend

BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup
The 2027 BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup roster features riders from New Zealand and all parts of Australia, including seven of the top 10 from the 2026 season: Callum Campbell, Ryder McKenna, Kael Brien, Jordan Lazar, Lewis Birkle, Patrick Lucchitti and Lucas Hyslop.

A new batch of rookies will also begin their OJC careers at The Bend, in a circuit racing academy whose developmental credentials have consistently been highlighted since the category’s inception in 2019 on Yamaha’s diminutive YZF-R15.

OJC graduates include Carter Thompson, who finished third in the 2026 Sportbike World Championship, and Archie McDonald, who won the 2026 Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup and remains a key part of the program as a mentor and rider coach.

The ninth running of the BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup will kick off at The Bend

Images: RbMotoLens