ASBK Fans return to the Grandstands of Winton Raceway

After more than a year, thanks to COVID-19, race fans finally get to pack the deck chairs and return trackside for this weekend’s Round two of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul (ASBK), at Winton Motor Raceway.

Spectators have not been allowed in to watch the racing since Round One last year at Phillip Island.

Not since round one last year, at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, have fans been allowed at a circuit because of government COVID-19 regulations around sporting events, and they will be salivating to soak up the atmosphere this weekend at Northern Victoria’s Winton Motor Raceway.

This weekend provides fans trackside with six spectacular classes of ASBK racing action that will see the countries best riders fight for every inch on track in the hope to score the first crucial Championship points on offer this year.

Six categories will pack out the field, from champions in the main series to first time racers in the OJC.

This weekend’s action includes fan favourites the Pirelli Superbike class as well as Motorsport TV Supersport, Dunlop Supersport 300, YFS R3 Cup, bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup and Horsell Australian F1 and F2 Sidecar Championship.

The action kicks off on Friday with free practice sessions for all classes firing into action from 9am, where riders and teams will try to find the perfect set-up.

The bikes will head out on track for practice sessions on the Friday, with the main races happening on the Sunday.

On Saturday, from 9am, competitors get down to business with qualifying sessions in each and every class and the first races of the weekend for the Australian Sidecars, Supersport 300, Oceania Junior Cup, and R3 Cup.

Sunday will see nearly 8 hours of jam-packed scintillating action in every class including the feature races of the Pirelli Superbike class at 11am and 2.10pm, which will determine who can claim the top spot on the 2021 ASBK Championship points ladder.

Sunday will have nearly eight hours of action out on track, from sidecars to the fastest riders in the country.

In the Pirelli Superbike class there are 23 riders, 6 of whom have won the ASBK Championship in recent times including reigning Champion Wayne Maxwell, Troy Herfoss, Josh Waters, Bryan Staring, Mike Jones, and Glenn Allerton.

There has been plenty of movement in the Superbike class in the off-season with new riders entering the fray, Supersport class riders stepping up and former Superbike riders returning from overseas commitments.

The Supersport series will see 19 riders battling it out on track, with a few making the step from the 300 classes.

With 19 riders, the Motorsports TV Supersport class is no different, with a number of young guns from the Dunlop Supersport 300 class moving up to challenge championship regulars. This year, World Supersport 300 riders Tom Edwards and Tom Bramich return to the ASBK paddock to take on Championship regulars Broc Pearson, Aiden Hayes, Max Stauffer, Jack Passfield and Jack Hyde in the Motorsports TV Supersport class.

The Dunlop Supersport 300 class sees a massive field of 34 riders aboard Yamaha YZF-R3s and Kawasaki Ninja 400s which always provide sensational handle-bar to handle-bar action on track. This class will see several riders stepping up from the Oceania Junior Cup class full-time, and new entrants taking on the regulars such as Brandon Demmery, Laura Brown, Joseph Marinello and Carter Thompson.

The 300 classes will take the track, with R3 cup champion Carter Thompson returning to defend his title.

Along with the Supersport 300 class is the R3 Cup. This is yet another class which provide spectacular close racing action and often sees riders also competing in the Supersport 300 class. This single make Yamaha class always guarantees a close finish to the chequered flag.

Officially supported by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), FIM Oceania and recognised by Dorna Sports sl, as part of the Road to MotoGP program, the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup will field 20 young riders. In 2021, 13 new riders join the OJC which always provides sensational action and often sees a dozen riders cross the finish line within millimetres of each other.

The FIM recognised category, OJC, will also provide close racing and plenty of slipstreaming through the Yamaha R15 field.

The Horsell Australian F1 and F2 Sidecar Championship will see 12 sidecar riders and their passengers take on the challenging Winton circuit. The sidecars were unable to get on track in 2020 due to COVID-19, and this weekend will be the first hit out for sidecars in over 12 months.

If you can’t get track side, coverage of the round begins Sunday on SBS Viceland or Fox Sports Channel 507 from Midday to 3pm, and the ASBK TV Live Stream coverage runs all day from 9.30am to 4.20pm via the ASBK website. Tickets are limited, so grab yours now by clicking here.