Full recap of the opening Superbike race at Phillip Island

ASBK 2024
Round Five – Phillip Island
First Australian Superbike Race

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The title “shot by shot” could not have been more fitting for this race as strong winds whipped down Phillip Island’s main straight as Superbike competitors gathered on the starting grid just after 11am on Sunday for the opening race of the fifth round of the 2024 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship.

The wind blew hard into Turn One, then turned into a headwind at Hayshed, causing numerous difficulties for the 23 drivers on the track around the 4.445km circuit.

Track temperatures were just over 24 degrees, with ambient temperatures just under 15. Maintaining any sort of temperature on the right side of the front tyre over two low-speed turns would be a tall order, with cold tearing or stippling at the other end of the spectrum.

Well, it’s not complicated at all…

Josh Waters will start at the front while lining up next to him on the front row are Cru Halliday and Harrison Voight.

Arthur Sissis led the second row and was supported by Mike Jones and Glenn Allerton on the starting grid.

During the warm-up, Dwayne Tosen crashed heavily through the gravel pit at Hayshed and will therefore not be competing in this race.

This led to a temporary delay on the grid as the drivers prepared for the start of the race. Drivers wondered what was going on before long-time ASBK official Brendan Ferrari displayed a ‘State Delayed’ board as officials cleared away a number of signs that had blown onto the track.

The decision was also made to reduce the race distance to ten laps.

The riders set off again just after 11:15, then returned to the start line again, but were delayed once more.

Team staff were on the grid with tyre warmers while Josh Waters jumped off his bike and over the wall to talk to officials. Several other riders also briefed officials on the conditions on the track and expressed their concerns about the tyre heat cycle.

Cam Dunker appeared to stall as he attempted to start but resumed running after a delay, before eventually having to leave the track with an electrical issue and failing to start.

The race distance was shortened to nine laps.

And the lights go out!

Josh Waters led his McMartin Racing teammate Harrison Voight through the first corner ahead of Glenn Allerton, Arthur Sissis and Cru Halliday. That order remained the same until the fourth corner of the second lap when Cru Halliday broke away from Sissis and Allerton to move into third in an incredible move.

Up front, Harrison Voight was trying to catch Josh Waters, the pair were almost neck and neck as they both recorded 1:31.7 on the second lap as the gap between the two fell nine laps. By the time they started their third lap, the McMartin pair had a two-second lead over Halliday.

Arthur Sissis was determined to keep Cru Halliday at bay, the Stop & Seal driver hot on the heels of the YRT driver throughout the third lap as they pulled away from Glenn Allerton.

Mike Jones and Anthony West then pushed Allerton back into seventh. Westy then ran wide at turn four on the following lap, ruining his chances of finishing in the top seven.

Bryan Staring had some issues with his MotoGo Yamaha and had to go to the service station when he noticed oil leaking from the bike.

Voight was on Waters’ tail as they started lap five and almost looked like they were setting up for a move at turn one before changing their minds. The pair had a three-second lead over Halliday, who was still being chased by Sissis. Mike Jones had moved into fifth by the middle of the race.

Voight turned onto the inside of Waters at turn four to take the lead for the first time with less than three laps to go.

Arthur Sissis passed Halliday for third at Turn Four with less than two laps to go. Also in the race for the final step on the podium were Mike Jones and Glenn Allerton, who had focused on that pair and the quartet ran almost neck and neck through Hayshed. Sissis was a little wide at MG, allowing Halliday to pass… Jones ran better through Turns 11 and 12, but Sissis somehow managed to take the lead into Turn One and held a clean enough position through the opening sequence of corners to keep his rivals at bay…

The final lap and there was no gap between Voight and Waters, while the gap was nearly five seconds, Sissis, Jones, Halliday and Allerton were not far apart either…

Voight is the winner! His first win on a Superbike!

Josh Waters took the lead by more than two-tenths over the 18-year-old to extend his lead over Jones to 23 points.

Arthur Sissis did a fantastic job of keeping Halliday, Allerton and Jones at bay for the final step on the podium. It was a real battle for third in the closing laps and Sissis was delighted to break through to secure his first Superbike podium.

Max Stauffer took seventh place by a large margin over Anthony West.

Broc Pearson moved up to ninth after a poor start, while John Lytras finished tenth ahead of Matt Walters.

Superbike Race One Results

1. Harrison Voight
2. Josh Waters +0.227 seconds
3. Arthur Sissis +4.802 seconds
4. Cru Halliday +5.365 seconds
5. Glenn Allerton +5.443 seconds
6. Mike Jones +5.704 seconds
7. Max Stauffer +9.592 seconds
8. Anthony West +15.454 seconds
9. Broc Pearson +17.141 seconds
10. John Lytras +30.290 seconds
11. Matt Walters +33.236 seconds
12. Ryan Yanko +37.508 seconds
13. Paris Hardwick +37.546 seconds
14. Josh Soderland +48.201 seconds
15. Adam Senior +53.920s
16. Noel Mahon +59.626 seconds
17. Paul Linkenbagh +60.124 seconds
18. Charles holds +62.829 seconds
19. Michael Kemp +1 lap

ASBK Superbike Championship Points

2024 Australian Superbike Championship Schedule

• Round 1: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC 23-25 ​​February
• Round 2: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW 22-23 March
• Round 3: Queensland Circuit, QLD 26-28 April
• Round 4: Morgan Park Circuit, QLD 12-14 July
• Round 5: Phillip Island GP, VIC September 7-8
• Round 6: One Raceway, NSW October 4-6
• Round 7: Bend Motorsports Park, SA November 8-10