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ASBK 2023

Round Four – Hidden Valley, Darwin

ASBK hits Darwin this weekend as a supporting act to the V8 Supercars ‘Darwin Triple Crown’ event. Only the Superbike category is making the trek north and this marks the halfway point of season 2023. Three rounds have been run, and after the three races in Darwin, there will be three rounds left.

This year marks the third year in a row that the ASBK hard-chargers have played before the immense crowd that converges on Hidden Valley.

Last year was a major turning point of the season. Mike Jones, in his debut year for the Yamaha Racing Team, went to Darwin with a 23-point lead over the defending champion, Wayne Maxwell. Jones had won three of the four races at the two previous rounds, Queensland Raceway and Wakefield Park.

At Hidden Valley Jones continued that form taking two wins and a second place in Darwin while Maxwell stumbled. Although Maxwell did claim pole position, a race win and a new race lap record, in his terms, it was a very mediocre result for Maxwell’s stellar ambitions, with a fourth place and a crash blotting his scorecard, although he remounted to finish 11th in the third race to salvage a few points.

Jones gained 17 points in the title to leave Darwin with a 40-point lead over Maxwell as a major stepping-stone in setting up his third championship victory.

Heading into this fourth round, championship leader Josh Waters on the McMartin Racing with K-Tech Ducati V4 R will be hoping for much the same. Waters arrives in Darwin with an 18-point lead over Troy Herfoss.

Ever since Josh threw his leg over the McMartin Racing Ducati Panigale V4 to replace his good mate, the retiring Wayne Maxwell, the Mildura resident has been almost unstoppable, seemingly breaking lap records at will, as the win tally added up.

Up until QR in April, Waters had been virtually untouchable, winning the opening five races, at Phillip Island and Sydney Motorsport Park, as well as setting new lap records at both tracks, but at the ‘paperclip’ he could only manage a brace of fourth places which saw his points lead shrivel.

It wasn’t so much the placings that would not have been pleasing to the team but the distance from the lead as Josh finished over three-seconds off the leading podium trio of Herfoss, Jones and Cru Halliday.

However, heading into Hidden Valley it would be a brave man to bet against Waters and the Ducati as the ‘Mildura Missile’ is the most ‘winningest’ rider up north with seven wins under his belt at Hidden Valley, however his last victory was back in 2017 on a Suzuki when on his way to a third ASBK title.

Waters hasn’t been on the podium there since 2017 and last year was one of his worst results at Hidden Valley with a brace of eighth places. Soon after he parted way with the Maxima Oils BMW team and was sitting out the season with no real prospects on the horizon until thrown the invite to jump on Maxwell’s Ducati at last year’s Australian GP Superbike Support races. We know what has happened since. An ominous sign for the opposition on a track like Hidden Valley.

With his record at Darwin, he is a hot favourite to claim at least one win . Overall round success will go a long way to helping to propel Waters to become the first rider of the modern era to win four Australian Superbike Championships.

He’s not the only one chasing that elusive ambition though as Glenn Allerton is in a similar position to Waters, aiming for that fourth Australian Superbike title with the prospect of history that the feat will span three decades. Allerton’s first title victory was 15 years ago, in 2008, a year before Waters clinched his first. It will be a remarkable and historic achievement if either of the pair can manage to pull it off but heading to Darwin, Waters is looking to be a firmer favourite.

Second in the championship and second overall at Hidden Valley last year, is Penrite Honda’s Troy Herfoss. It was the ‘feel-good’ story of the year when he finished second in the opening leg, after a magnificent battle with Bryan Staring. That unfolded 12 months on from severe and life-threatening injuries sustained at Hidden Valley the year before. During that fateful weekend in 2021, Herfoss won the opening race on Saturday afternoon, but less than 24 hours later lay in a critical condition in hospital. How quickly fortunes can change in sport, and for that matter, in life…

It’s been a challenging two years fighting his way back to the top, but the commitment never wavered. Herf’s dedication to his recovery and belief in his ability was rewarded at the last round at Queensland Raceway. Pole Position and two race wins moved him right into the hunt for title number three as he took valuable points out of Waters’ lead. The Penrite Honda man now only 18 points behind.

Behind the leading duo, Cru Halliday leads the way for the Yamaha Racing Team and is on equal points with the mercurial Glenn Allerton in third place, 45 points off the title lead.

The pair have contrasting stories in this year’s chase.

Halliday had a big hiccup in the opening race of the year at Phillip Island, in February, when he had to take evasive action on the opening lap of the race heading through Stoner Corner (T3).

Arthur Sissis had a moment and in turn touched Mike Jones, on his outside. In doing so Halliday who was right with them had to swerve to avoid a major incident but, unfortunately, ran off at a warp speed to head towards the tyre wall (now removed) and had to abandon bike, although he tumbled into the barrier. Cru was very fortunate to escape serious injury. He was battered and bruised but bounced back – literally – to be on the podium in the next race and has been there in every race since.

Cru has never climbed on a podium at Hidden Valley in the Superbike class, but with his 2023 form he’d be expecting the podium tally to continue to rise, with at least one of them a first place and this year is shaping to be his best chance at the title yet.

Allerton on the other hand was unsure of how his year would travel right until a few days before the opening round at Phillip Island back in February.

During the off-season, Glenn appeared to be heading in a new direction with strong rumours that, after more than a decade with BMW, that saw him garner two ASBK titles, he would jump on a Ducati with the backing of a long-term sponsor. It became apparent as the season approached that the bikes would not be here for the first round and the prospective new project eventually fizzed to nothing. Obviously very disappointed, he didn’t want to miss out on any racing, so was quick to acquire the BMW’s he rode last year from Shane Kinderis, who was drafted back in to assist Glen to race at Phillip Island.

Allerton was right at home and finished third in the opening race of the year but hasn’t been able to replicate the feat, as yet, although he has finished in the top six in every race since.

With three podiums from the last five races at Hidden Valley and getting more comfortable with his old steed, and a proven team around him, Allerton will be a front runner.

As for the defending champion, and Halliday’s team mate in YRT, Mike Jones, he hasn’t graced the top step of the podium this year so far, but he has gone damn close, and that was at the previous round at QR when he brawled with Herfoss in every lap of both races to miss out on a win by 0.115 in race one, and 0.056 in leg two.

A setback for his title defence was a DNF in Sydney. In the opening race at SMP he had a mechanical and as he was slowing the R1M caught fire. That brought out the red flags and as such he was excluded from taking part in the re-start and missed out on a healthy dose of points.

Jones currently sits in fifth place, 11 points adrift of Allerton and Halliday. Last year in Darwin Jones missed out on a hat-trick of wins by just 0.249 second – the gap behind Maxwell in race two.

The past three rounds are now history, so Jones has only one thought in mind and that is a return to the top this weekend.

Sitting in sixth and nine points behind Jones in the points-table is Ted Collins on the Livson Racing BMW. Ted is a pleasant surprise this year. He won the 2017 Australian Supersport Championship then graduated to the Superbike class, but he didn’t really gel with the BMW and took a hiatus. In recent times he’s been an occasional competitor in the Superbike ranks, but this year it is a full season effort in the Nathan Spiteri-owned team and he’s been chipping away sorting out the Beemer and lowering his lap times at every outing, but more importantly, closing the gap to those in front of him and Ted has been in the Top Ten in every race.

Another rider who can never be discounted is Bryan Staring who is seventh on 88 points. After being let go by the DesmoSport Ducati Team at the very end of last year, he has found a new home at Patrick Li’s MotoGo Yamaha Team with Dave “Radar” Cullen in his corner.

Staring finished third in the championship last year and won the opening race of the year. While at Hidden Valley the Western Australia claimed two thirds and a fourth in some great, elbows-out battles with Herfoss, Maxwell and Jones.

Bryan’s adapted quickly to the R1 and in the early part of the races has been near the front. Now that he has some good data to work with he is bound to throw a few spanners at his opposition over the weekend and should be in the reckoning for a podium.

One who wouldn’t be happy with his ninth place in the standing is Broc Pearson. There is no doubting Broc’s commitment and talent, but at this stage, something just hasn’t completely gelled between him and the Italian beauty that is the DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4 R.

Next cab off the rank in the top ten is Arthur Sissis. Considering his small stature the South Australia does an amazing job of muscling the Unitech Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 around, and his ballistic starts are well documented. Arthur missed the previous round at QR after breaking his wrist in a testing crash at the same venue a few weeks previously. Up until then he was in fifth slot in the championship after 6-4 results at SMSP and looked to be gaining momentum amongst the more fancied teams.

Rounding out the Top Ten after three rounds is Max Stauffer. The teenager from the Hunter Valley is improving all the time and scored his best results in the Superbike class when he took his GTR/MotoStars R1 to a pair of sixth places at the previous round at QR, and as ever, put in PBs. Max learns at every turn of the wheel and is his own worst task master. With his continuing rise closer to the top of the time sheets, a top five or podium is not out of the realms of possibility. And never forget the hereditary talent that runs in his veins.

Matt Walters has now had more time to get to know the Aprilia RSV4 and might spring a few surprises in the tropics. The Cessnock based rider had a scary ride with brake failure at Hidden Valley some time ago that will certainly remind him where the braking marker for turn one is!  And if Anthony West gets comfortable enough on the Addicted To Track Yamaha he has the potential to upset the current pecking order…

No matter the determination, every rider will have to be in peak form for every lap/ and have taken lessons away from PI and SMSP in their attempts to upset Josh Waters as he gets motoring again.

The biggest worry for those aiming to part the Waters and divert the Ducati is if the McMartin Racing man wins the charge to the first corner on the opening lap, and then quickly settles into the rhythm that’s he’s known for it will be hard work for his pursuers.

The speed around the back section shown by Jones last year though was able to make the difference and it’s clear that the Yamaha machines have more mumbo hiding behind the svelte flanks this season. Could this be where the defending champ hits his stride…?

Hidden Valley is much more than a very long straight with a few corners linking it together. On paper it’s easy to see that Phillip Island is a great track with its flowing nature. Conversely the Hidden Valley ribbon of black, on paper, looks like a straight line with a squiggle to join it together. Even being track side doesn’t provide a true impression of the circuit’s challenges and character.

Bike set up is crucial for the rise and fall, corner camber, the tightness of a couple of the fast corners, and the different characteristics of every one of the 14 corners combined with the commitment required to execute a move and maintain it.

If you can carry good corner speed coming onto and off the straight and not get caught up with others, it goes a very long way to setting up a good lap. Waters thrives in that scenario, but if there is competitive traffic the racing lines change completely as braking prowess, and a balls-out nature are required to really attack the track and beat the opposition into submission. And being such a short track, if you get slightly off-line, your lap time is ruined.

Did QR demonstrate a chink in the armour of the Waters/McMartin Racing partnership, or was it an aberration and normal service for 2023 will be resumed on the weekend?

With 76 points up for grabs this weekend it’s understandable why this round is so crucial for many and be a make or break weekend. .

There will be three practice sessions for the ASBK lads on Friday, followed by two qualifying sessions on Saturday morning with the first 16-lap race due to start at 1240 Saturday afternoon.

On Sunday, the second race will be at 0830 with the third and final Superbike race straight after the opening Supercars race and is due to start at 1310.

Superbike Championship Points

2023 ASBK Calendar