2025

Jones fastest at Morgan Park but ASBK battle set to intensify

By MA Media 0

Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) has settled back beautifully into one of his favourite locations to set the fastest time in practice at round four of the 2025 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) at Morgan Park Raceway in Warwick (Qld).

The official start of a huge week of motorsport in Warwick – which will conclude with a round of the Australian ProMX Championship on June 22 – was held in sublime winter weather, which will continue across the weekend as Jones and Co. not only battle it out in SW-Motech Superbike, but five other classes will take to the 2.96km circuit as well: Kawasaki Supersport, Race and Road Supersport 300, ShopYamaha R3 Cup, BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup and Superbike Masters.

The full catalogue of classes equates to 16 races across the weekend, while off-track activities will include stunt shows, ASBK pillion rides and a huge paddock party on Sunday where spectators can grab autographs from ASBK legends past and present.

To purchase tickets for ASBK round four, click here.

Round four of the Australian Superbike Championship is supported by the Southern Downs Regional Council.

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Jones was back in his element at his happy SW-Motech Superbike hunting ground

SW-Motech Superbike
As he’s proven time and time again over the years, when Jones gets in the groove at a favourite haunt he’s one of the most uncompromising customers in the business.

Friday was only practice for the SW-Motech Superbike field, but the Queenslander was the reference point in all three sessions – the first two ahead of Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati) and the last from championship leader Josh Waters (McMartin Racing Ducati) – to begin round four of the ASBK Championship at the pointy end.

But it wasn’t a walk in the park, with Waters, Pearson and Anthony West (Addicted to Track Yamaha) all within 0.3secs of Jones’ benchmark around the 12-turn layout.

Jonathan Nahlous (Omega Racing Team Yamaha) was next, followed by rookie Jack Favelle (Addicted to Track Yamaha), Cameron Dunker (MotoGO Yamaha) and Max Stauffer (Yamaha Racing Team).

The Superbike riders have one more practice session on Saturday for more fine-tuning, and then it’s into qualifying mode to decide grid positions for Sunday’s two 16-lap races.

Josh Waters turned up the wick late to finish second in SW-Motech practice

Kawasaki Supersport
Fresh off a plane from a second-place finish in the latest round of the European Stock title, Albury hard-charger Archie McDonald (Stop and Seal Yamaha) has slipped seamlessly back into Kawasaki Supersport mode at Morgan Park.

McDonald topped all three practice sessions on Friday, progressively upping the ante until he finished the day with a best lap of 1:15.234 – knocking on the door of Tom Toparis’ six-year-old lap record of 1:15.045.

Olly Simpson (BCperformance Kawasaki) was second, 0.4secs behind McDonald, followed by championship leader Jack Mahaffy (Stop and Seal Yamaha) – who escaped unscathed from a crash in the second session – Tom Edwards (Team BWR Yamaha), Cameron Swain (Caboolture Yamaha) and Hayden Nelson (BCperformance Kawasaki).

It was a particularly eye-catching return to the Supersport category for Edwards, who finished second in the 2021 championship before heading overseas.

Tom Bramich (Apex Yamaha), who shared wins with Simpson at the last round, was ninth in practice, just over a second behind McDonald.

Next up for the 22 riders is qualifying, with the opening session to be held at 9:10am on Saturday.

McDonald hit the ground running on his Kawasaki Supersport return

Race and Road Supersport 300 and ShopYamaha R3 Cup
The perennially huge fields in the Race and Road Supersport 300 and ShopYamaha R3 Cup classes always adds a delicious layer of unpredictability, which is what makes them such compelling viewing.

The racing will formally kick off with the opening bouts in both categories on Saturday afternoon, but first off are the preliminaries where Scott Nicholson (Kawasaki) came out on top in today’s Supersport 300 practice ahead of Valentino Knezovic (Yamaha) and Riley Nauta (Kawasaki), and in the R3 Cup Knezovic continued his strong form followed by Hudson Thompson and John Pelgrave.

Both classes have two qualifying sessions before racing gets underway.

BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup
The BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup form guide held true on Friday, with the top six riders in the official Australian Junior Road Race Championship class the same group who seized the top six spots in practice.

Connor Lewis set today’s benchmark, from Chaz Williams, Rossi McAdam, Jai Strugnell, Xavier Curmi and Hunter Charlett, as the fleet of 20 Yamaha YZF-R15s revelled in the tight and twisty surrounds of the Morgan Park circuit.

Williams is the current OJC leader from Lewis, Charlett, McAdam, Strugnell and Curmi.

Connor Lewis topped BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup practice

Superbike Masters
Beau Beaton (Ducati 851) waltzed through Superbike Masters practice with nearly 2.5secs to spare over Josh Mathers (Yamha FZR1050), with Corey Glock (Honda RC30) third.

As usual, the field features a variety of immaculately prepared production-based and grand prix machines, including a Yamaha TZ750, Suzuki Katana and Kawasaki ZXR750.