2025 ASBK Round One | Waters dominates at Phillip Island

Josh Waters made light work of his opposition with a brilliant clean sweep at round one of the 2025 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) at Phillip Island last weekend. Report: Ed Stratmann/ASBK Media, Photos: Brett Butler

Josh Waters (McMartin Racing Ducati) left Phillip Island with a handy early lead in the championship…

Waters won all three races in the SW-MOTECH Superbike class, as he completed a flawless season opener on the McMartin Racing Ducati. Waters’ fellow hard-nosed veterans Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) and Anthony West (Addicted to Track Yamaha) were second and third overall in round one, while Archie McDonald (Stop and Seal Yamaha) and Scott Nicholson (Kawasaki) were the leading point-scorers in the Kawasaki Supersport and Race and Road Supersport 300 classes after three days of scintillating high-speed action.

“I could not be happier with how this weekend has gone, although it certainly wasn’t as easy as it looked,” said Waters. “But I was super happy with how my McMartin Ducati performed, and this result has certainly put down a very solid foundation for the 2025 season. Racing is still a huge passion for me, and I enjoy competing – and celebrating success – with family and friends.”

Race One

Waters’ superiority in the 11-lap race one started from the get-go when he barrelled into turn one with the lead, followed by Cam Dunker (MotoGo Yamaha) and Jones. That’s as close as the field got to him, although West – who started on the front row alongside Waters – was an early threat after he moved into second on lap two.

West reduced the gap to about half a second with a scorching 1:31.669 on lap three, but Waters’ immediate response was a 1:31.599, which was all the impetus he needed to start the year with maximum points.

The final winning margin was well over four seconds from West, who briefly lost the runner-up position to Jones at turn 10 on the final lap before the Moto2 GP winner performed a swift cutback to regain the ascendancy.

Ducati pair Glenn Allerton (Superbike Advocates Racing) and Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati) were next home, with the top eight completed by Max Stauffer (Yamaha Racing Team), John Lytras (Yamaha) and Cru Halliday (Stop and Seal Yamaha).

Tom Edwards (Motoschool Racing Yamaha) and Jonathan Nahlous (Yamaha) made impressive rookie debuts to see out the top 10, while Dunker was one of three DNFs after crashing on lap nine while running fourth.

Race One Results

Josh Waters
Anthony West (+4.404)
Mike Jones (+4.421)
Glenn Allerton (+13.809)
Broc Pearson (+14.013)

Race Two

In race two, Waters was again in runaway mode, but this time, Jones turned the tables on West as Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati) edged out race one faller Cameron Dunker (MotoGo Yamaha) in a gripping battle for fourth. Glenn Allerton (Superbike Advocates Racing Ducati), Stauffer and Cru Halliday (Stop and Seal Yamaha) completed the top eight.

Race Two Results

Josh Waters
Mike Jones (+2.661)
Anthony West (+2.725)
Broc Pearson (+8.758)
Cameron Dunker (+8.863)

Race Three

It only took about 10 seconds of race three for the first flashpoint, with Pearson – who came home with a wet sail in race two – going down at turn one after being clipped and forced wide.

Halliday (flat tyre) and Allerton (mechanical) also failed to finish race three, leaving Waters, Jones and West to be followed home in the 11-lapper by the fast-starting Dunker, Jonathan Nahlous (Yamaha), Lytras, Stauffer and Ryan Yanko (Addicted to Track Yamaha).

Josh Waters’ 17th and 18th SW-MOTECH Superbike victories at Phillip were achieved with brutal efficiency, as he sling-shotted off the line on both occasions and then immediately knuckled down to build unassailable leads.

Waters’ three wins and a pole position saw him bank a maximum 76pts (there’s a bonus point for pole position) in round one, from Mike Jones (58), Anthony West (56), Max Stauffer (43) and John Lytras (40).

Race Three Results

Josh Waters
Mike Jones (+2.108)
Anthony West (+2.146)
Cameron Dunker (+12.664)
Jonathan Nahlous (+17.035)

Championship Points

Josh Waters – 76 Points
Mike Jones – 58 Points
Anthony West – 56 Points
Max Stauffer – 43 Points
John Lytras – 40 Points

Kawasaki Supersport

Archie McDonald now has seven wins and 11 podiums from 24 starts in the Kawasaki Supersport class, as the 18-year-old’s stocks continue to rise at a rapid rate. His 1-1 scorecard saw him get the better of Stop and Seal Yamaha teammate Jack Mahaffy on both occasions, while Tom Bramich (Yamaha) and Olly Simpson (BCperformance Kawasaki) shared the third places.

“Archie McDonald now has seven wins and 11 podiums from 24 starts”…

Race one was the more intense of the two, with Mahaffy managing to pierce McDonald’s defences a couple of times – but his leadership was fleeting as McDonald immediately regained the top spot. Bramich and Simpson, making his ASBK Kawasaki Supersport debut, were third and fourth in race one, followed by rookie Cameron Swain (Yamaha) and Hayden Nelson (BCperformance Kawasaki).

The pace was a lot slower in slippery race two conditions, but the same riders battled at the front of the field – minus Swain who went down early on. McDonald won by nearly a second from Mahaffy, with Simpson, Bramich, Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha) and Marcus Hamod (Honda) filling the top six positions.

In a sometimes wild and woolly Kawasaki Supersport finale, Jack Mahaffy snapped Stop and Seal Yamaha teammate Archie McDonald’s two-race winning streak to bring up his third win in the category. The start of the race saw Olly Simpson (BCperformance Kawasaki), Mahaffy, McDonald and Tom Bramich (Yamaha) constantly swap positions, and on lap seven Mahaffy and McDonald nearly collided at turn four.

That was the trigger point to take a deep breath and, with Simpson soon losing the tow, it boiled down to a race of three.

Round Results

Archie Mcdonald – 71 Points
Jack Mahaffy – 65 Points
Olly Simpson – 51 Points
Jake Farnsworth – 46 Points
Declan van Rosmalen – 43 Points

Championship Points

Archie Mcdonald – 71 Points
Jack Mahaffy – 65 Points
Olly Simpson – 51 Points
Jake Farnsworth – 46 Points
Declan van Rosmalen – 43 Points

Race and Road Supersport 300

Following Tara Morrison’s maiden Race and Road Supersport 300 victory on Friday, it was then the turn of Jordy Simpson (Yamaha) to steal the limelight. Simpson’s win was also a reward for perseverance, with the South Aussie finishing on the Supersport 300 podium six times in 2024 without standing on the top step.

He’s now put that bogey to bed, winning race two after coming from the clouds on the final lap with the fastest lap of the race. His powerful work was rewarded with a tight win over Hudson Thompson (Yamaha) and Scott Nicholson (Kawasaki).

Valentino Knezovic (Yamaha), who finished runner-up in the 2024 championship, recovered from a hapless race one to finish fourth, ahead of Kawasaki pair Oliver Short and Morrison. Sam Drane’s already a junior dirt track star, and now he’s a Race and Road Supersport 300 winner!

The 14-year-old – yes, you read correctly – won another extraordinarily tight battle in Sunday’s third and final race on his Yamaha to make it three different winners across the round. Again, the race came down to precious millimetres, as 18 riders flashed across the finish line 2.2 seconds apart.

After being in the mix in the first two races without quite getting the job done, this time Drane wouldn’t be denied as he inched his way to the front on the second last lap and then kept down the shutters. Scott Nicholson (Kawasaki) was second from 15-year-old Hudson Thompson, followed by Jordy Simpson (Yamaha), Tara Morrison (Kawasaki) and Valentino Knezovic (Yamaha).

Simpson (2-3-4) was the overall round winner from Nicholson (3-3-2), who defeated Morrison (1-6-5) on a countback after they both finished on the same points. Thompson (5-2-3) and Drane (8-8-1) saw out the top five.

Race and Road Supersport 300 Championship Points