Show time: huge grid at QR as ASBK and Supercars reunite
Big names, new names, returning names and new bikes: round five of the 2025 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) at Queensland Raceway from August 8-10 is set to be a blockbuster from multiple angles!
A healthy grid of 25 riders will compete in the ‘2-plus-4’ round alongside the Repco Supercars Championship, comprising 21 Superbikes and four machines from the fledgling Supersport Next Gen class.
As well as the regular SW-Motech Superbike stars, Harrison Voight (McMartin Racing Ducati) will make his first appearance in the ASBK Championship in nearly 12 months – when he defeated teammate Josh Waters at Phillip Island – as he heads home between his European Moto2 and World Supersport commitments.
Voight (#29) and Waters (#21) in an intra-team battle at Phillip Island in 2024
Former Australian Supersport 300 champion and current Supersport rider Marcus Hamod will also make his Superbike debut at Queensland Raceway in a welcome return to the grid for Honda, while former Superbike gun and runaway Superbike Masters leader Beau Beaton is back in the premier category for a cameo on a Stop and Seal Yamaha.
Arthur Sissis (Stop and Seal Yamaha) also returns for Superbike action after missing round four at Morgan Park Raceway, while the Next Gen class has received a massive shot in the arm with Archie McDonald, Jack Mahaffy and Tom Toparis joining early category adopter Luca Durning.
Durning (DesmoSport Ducati) has been campaigning the new Panigale V2 since ASBK round three, and he’ll now be joined by Toparis (Stop and Seal) on the same machine, while Supersport arch-rivals McDonald and Mahaffy will be on Stop and Seal Yamaha YZF-R6s.
Durning on the DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V2
To check out the Queensland Raceway entry list, click here.
Thanks to a heady mix of speed and consistency, Waters takes a 53pt (215 to 162) Superbike lead over Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) into round five, followed by Anthony West (Addicted to Track Yamaha, 158), Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati, 129) and Glenn Allerton (Superbike Advocates Ducati, 126).
The circuit has been fertile ground for Jones in recent years, but it was Waters and Allerton who prevailed in the Queensland Raceway round three battle on May 4.
Jones on the Yamaha Racing Team YZ-R1M
With the return of Voight adding even more spice this time around, the three 15-lap races – one on Saturday and two on Sunday – could be season-defining for many.
Standby for a full ASBK round five preview.
To purchase tickets to the event, click here.
Images: RbMotoLens and Russell Colvin
