ASBK Team reports from Sydney Motorsport Park TechTricks365

ASBK 2025

Round Two – Sydney Motorsport Park
Team Reports (as supplied)

Onyabike KW Civil McMartin Racing

Josh Waters and the Onyabike KW Civil McMartin Racing with K-Tech Team dominated the two races at Sydney Motorsport Park for round two of the ASBK Championship held over two days of night racing 28-29 March to remain undefeated in 2025.

This unique round, held over a Friday and Saturday and featuring qualifying and racing under lights got underway with the threat of rain casting a shadow over the meeting. As per a normal weekend the practice sessions got underway on Friday, these were held in dry conditions, but for this round qualifying would also take place under lights on Friday night.

Josh and the Onyabike KW Civil McMartin Racing with K-Tech team made sure of a birth in the important Q2 session by laying down the second fastest lap in Q1, only .064 off the top of the timesheets. Unfortunately, light rain started to fall during the short Q2 session catching several teams out as track condition deteriorated quickly meaning Josh would have to launch the Ducati Panigale V4 from the third row of the grid for both of Saturday’s races.

Completely unfazed, Josh got an incredible launch from seventh on the grid as the lights went out and blasted the Ducati Panigale V4R around the outside to lead the field through the last part of turn one and that was about as close as anyone got.

A perfect start was followed by a perfect first lap opening a buffer of .637 over the pursuing pack led by Mike Jones. Jones was able to pull that back to .366 by the completion of lap three but the fastest lap of the race on lap four by Waters opened the gap back to over .6 and Josh simply rode a perfect race from there on to take the chequered flag with a comfortable margin over Jones.

Race two under lights on a perfectly dry track was almost a carbon copy although Josh had to work a little harder in the early stages of the opening lap to assert his domination on the Onyabike KW Civil McMartin Racing with K-Tech Ducati V4R.

A flawless final two sectors on that first lap opened a gap of .8 over a tightly grouped pack allowing the four-time ASBK Champion to make his escape resulting in a gap of over two seconds by the completion of lap two. From that point on Josh maintained incredible consistency to cross the line with a comfortable buffer over the fight for second.

Two wins from two starts sees Josh extend his championship lead over Jones by a further nine points as Josh Waters and the Onyabike KW Civil McMartin Racing with K Tech head to the next round at Queensland Raceway with a twenty-seven-point lead.

Josh Waters

“What a weekend; on Friday I was caught out with the weather and qualified back on the third row in seventh position. I was disappointed as we had done such a good job in the free practice sessions being fastest overall. But to get two race wins and the overall round victory I was really happy about. Two solid race starts helped us pave the way for back-to-back race wins from seventh on the grid at Sydney Motorsport Park for round two. As always, a huge thank you to my team who work so hard and all of our sponsors.”

Craig McMartin – Team Owner

“I am very happy with the weekend overall. As always, the team did a sensational job all weekend, especially with some tricky conditions. To be honest the only downside of the entire weekend was that we didn’t get qualifying quite right but that didn’t end up being a problem as Josh’s starts were amazing in both races and the way he fought to get to the lead so quickly was extremely impressive. Thanks again to all our sponsors and especially Onyabike adventures, KW Civil and Pirelli tyres.”

Yamaha Racing Team

Yamaha Racing Teams’ Mike Jones charged to a second-place finish at round two and despite a bleak weather forecast, race conditions were dry for both legs of the Superbike class.

Jones started off the weekend well, putting his YZF- R1M on pole position in a crazy qualifying session. Riders exploded onto the track to get a lap in as light mist began to fall from the sky late on Friday night. Jones lodged a good time and returned to the garage with every intention of heading back out if the weather held off.

But the mist continued and conditions, while not wet, certainly weren’t conducive to producing fast laps and Jones took pole in a confidence booster for the three-time champ.

The track handled the overnight rain well and when it stopped around 3pm on Saturday, the Superbike class had all but a dry track for their first race at 5pm. Jones launched from the grid and was in a strong position heading into the first turn, but his cautious approached allowed a couple of riders to sweep around the outside of him.

Within two laps, he moved his way back into second and set off after race leader and championship rival Josh Waters. Jones began to reel him in and at the halfway point, about one second separated the pair, with Jones edging a little closer with every lap.

But Waters responded to the Jones challenge and poured on the pace to hold Jones at bay, winning by a couple of seconds over Jones and the duo were over ten seconds ahead of third.

Now under the cover of darkness and the full effect of the lights, race two got off the grid at 9pm and the opening laps had plenty of intensity. Jones slipped back to fourth in the chaos but stayed calm and composed. He picked off the riders ahead and moved into second but the gap between himself and Waters had already blown out to a few seconds.

Jones consolidated his second place, but in the later stages, he came under attack from former teammate, Cru Halliday. The pair swapped positions several times in a frantic final few laps and it all came down to a drag race to the finish that saw Jones snare second place by a dust cap over Halliday.

Mike Jones

“All up it was a pretty good weekend for me to finish with pole and two second place results,” Jones expresses. “I would like to win every race but felt I raced well and did the best I could, so I leave here in good shape and looking forward to the next few rounds which are in Queensland. It was good the weather held off and we got two dry races as well. That’s the first time that has happened at this round, but the team were on their toes all weekend and ready for anything so thanks to them for a huge effort over the weekend.”

Max Stauffer is now fifth in the championship after two rounds after a consistent weekend of racing at SMSP. Stauffer, still coming back to 100% fitness as well as adjusting to the YRT bike finished with two top 10 results on the weekend and just off the pace he wanted to set.

Max Stauffer

“There is a pretty tight pack from third through to twelfth and all it takes it a to be a bit off to slide down those positions. I’m not where I want to be or expect to be, but I will keep working hard and we have some test days coming which I’m looking forward to and think will allow me to move forward in that pack. I’m fifth in the points, so it’s not too bad of a start, but I think there is plenty of room for improvement and with more work, I’m sure I can be a lot closer to the front.”

DesmoSport Ducati

The DesmoSport Ducati crew dealt with changing conditions for Broc Pearson to come away with a front row start (P3) and two seventh place finishes in the two 13-lap races.

Returning to Cube Performance Centre on the Gold Coast, DesmoSport Ducati is set to go testing over the next few weeks ahead of three Queensland-based races in a row, with Queensland Raceway.

Broc Pearson

“I was confident heading into the weekend that we had all the tools to put in a good result here in Sydney. Although we didn’t show the pace I anticipated, we were working through the bike setup in each session to end up qualifying on the front row on Friday night. I had a chance to try the new ECU in the wet, which gave me some more confidence after warm-up but the reality was our dry setting was a bike that was more difficult to ride than what I had at Phillip Island, and so it was difficult to maintain the track position I had off the start in both races. The team and I are working hard, and I’m looking forward to getting to Queensland Raceway next month where we can put some more laps in.”

Ben Henry – DesmoSport Ducati Team Owner

“The two-day Sydney round is always an exciting one, with good crowds, a lot of our crew and sponsors spending time in the box with us, and there’s something cool about racing under lights. 8th overall isn’t the result I expected this weekend though. Both our bike and Broc are capable of so much more than that. We’ve debriefed as a team already and have pinpointed some area’s to improve before we get to the next round so we can regain the feeling Broc had on the bike at Phillip Island. In hindsight, our dry setup moved too far in a direction that, although allowed Broc to muscle the bike to qualify third, wasn’t sustainable for him to race at the required pace. The good news is, he got great starts that we were missing at round one! We’ll head into testing at Queensland Raceway with some fresh perspectives and look to get Broc back on top.”

Motoschool Racing Team

The Motoschool Racing Team have capped off an eventful home round at Sydney Motorsport Park with the highlight being podiums from Connor and Oscar Lewis plus positive steps taken by Superbike rider Tom Edwards, who finished his two races in thirteenth and eleventh respectively.

Edwards, who was using the race spec YEC ECU this weekend for the first time, qualified in sixteenth before taking a fighting thirteenth in the opening race held on a drying track. The rain held off for second race later in the evening with the overall pace being faster, this time Edwards brought home the Motoschool R1 in eleventh.

The team now shift their focus to testing for the two upcoming rounds at Queensland Raceway and Morgan Park.

Haydan Parker – Motoschool Racing Team Owner

“That was such a dramatic weekend! There were some important steps forward from Tommy on the Superbike in terms of consistency and race pace, which was very encouraging. We had put some hard work in to prepare his R1 to run the YEC ECU, and to have it perform without any troubles was very encouraging. We also made some strong progress with developing the Dunlop tyres and look forward to testing them further in Queensland. Connor made an incredible debut in the Oceania Junior Cup, he is a very determined competitor and to hit the podium and finish second in the points is fantastic. Elijah and Oscar definitely saw the highs and lows of racing this weekend with some mechanical issues on Friday causing them to miss a few sessions each, but the team worked hard to get the bikes back on track. This ultimately saw Oscar secure his first podium from last on the grid, which was a great moment. Thanks to all the fans and supporters who showed up over the weekend, the atmosphere was electric for the pit walk on Saturday! Now we prepare with a testing schedule for Queensland Raceway and Morgan Park, a busy month before the next round in May.”

Addicted to Track Team Report

Despite the unpredictable weather that Sydney throws at us year after year, Round 2 for team Addicted to Track was a showcase of the hard work we have done over the Summer months as a cohesive unit.

#33 Jack Favelle ripped into SMSP from Friday FP1, dropping a second in every practice session and getting into the low 1.30’s. He credited the team for providing a perfect bike setup, which allowed him to fully capitalise on the extensive training completed in the off-season with the St. George MCC Summer Night Series. Qualifying in P4 gave Jack the confidence to tackle Saturday’s races head-on, and he wrapped up the weekend with his best ASBK Superbike performance yet, finishing P5 overall.

#13 Ant West, coming off a strong Round 1, showed solid pace all weekend but found it challenging to break through the field in the tricky wet-to-dry track conditions. With less hours at SMSP under his belt than some of his local counterparts, navigating the ever-changing conditions proved difficult. However, a fully dry Superbike Race 2 gave him the confidence to find his ideal lines, securing a P5 finish from a P9 start and lifting him to P6 overall for the weekend.

#82 Ryan Yanko admitted to making a few “silly mistakes” that kept his weekend from being as perfect as it should have been. Despite that, he felt strong from the start, quickly dropping into the 1:31s during free practice. A minor low-side at Turn 6 on the final lap of Superbike Race 2 was the main setback in an otherwise fantastic weekend of racing. Still, he was extremely happy with his performance and credited the team for a perfectly prepared bike, which gave him the confidence to build momentum for the rest of the season.

#37 Michael Edwards faced a disappointing weekend, with things not going to plan in Superbike Race 1 and ultimately sitting out of Race 2, citing a health issue. Determined as ever to compete rather than just participate, he pushed through but wasn’t physically capable of continuing. Despite the setback, he’s focused on moving forward and looks forward to coming back stronger at QR.

#17 Josh Newman demonstrated strong pace on the R6 early in the weekend, setting a new personal best of 1:34.989 in qualifying to secure P12 on the grid. Race 1 saw him battle through the pack, making key passes and running as high as P7 before an unfortunate tangle at Turn 6 with another rider dismantled his progress. In Race 2, he was on track for a strong result, running inside the top 10 before a mechanical issue on the final lap forced him to retire. Despite the results, Josh cites plenty of positive takeaways from this round and is eager to continue his progression on the R6 in Queensland.

For #83 Alvin Wu, it was a weekend of learning and improvement on the R3. After a crash in Supersport 300 qualifying, he recovered well in Race 1, working his way up to P23 from the rear of the field. Although he had a mixed results across the weekend, Alvin pushed hard right down to the wire, as he always does, to achieve his best performances of the weekend, making it up to P22 in the final SS300 race, and earning his fastest time of the weekend in R3 Cup Race 2. He finished in the points in both categories, giving him a solid foundation to work from when we race at home in a few weeks time.

We have a lot to be happy about, and are excited to keep up the momentum in front of a home audience in Round 3.

Superbike Championship Standings

2025 Australian Superbike Championship Calendar

Round	Location	Date
1	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC	Feb 21-23
2	Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW	Mar 28-29
3	Queensland Raceway, QLD	May 2-4
4	Morgan Park Raceway, QLD	Jun 13-15
5	Queensland Raceway, QLD (Superbike Only)	Aug 8-10
6	Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC	Sept 6-7
7	One Raceway, NSW	Oct 3-5
8	The Bend, SA	Nov 7-9