Image: Keith Muir.

Australia’s top-level Superbike riders are yet to confirm their futures as teams continue to assess 2015 options following the close of the national road racing season at Sydney Motorsport Park on Sunday.

With the Yamaha Racing Team (YRT) due to take delivery of the brand new 2015 YZF-R1, Team Honda Racing linked to an Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) return and Next Gen Motorsports indicating it will quit racing altogether, the annual silly season has peaked.

YRT has attracted much of the market’s attention so far, with all three current riders – Cru Halliday, Robbie Bugden and Rick Olson – up for contract renewal. It’s believed Yamaha has yet to sign any of its 2015 riders, anticipated to make a decision prior to December.

A who’s who of frontline riders have been linked to YRT in a bid to debut the highly-anticipated R1, including the current trio of YRT riders, as well as new ASC champion Wayne Maxwell, Glenn Allerton and Jamie Stauffer.

However Maxwell is also close to re-signing with Team Honda Racing, which is said to have extended offers to Maxwell and Herfoss in a potentially decreased two-rider outfit after fielding a team of four in 2014.

Honda has long been expected to switch back to a revamped ASBK series next season after a single season in the Australasian Superbike Championship (ASC), but it’s understood riders retain the option of contesting both series in standalone programs if they opt to.

Stauffer could return in red on a third CBR1000RR SP if additional funding requirements can be met, but he too has interest in a seat at YRT if one were to be made available, while Josh Hook is strongly linked to Asian competition fulltime.

As for current triple ASBK champion Allerton, the exit of Next Gen Motorsports has his future up in the air; yet another rider to express interest in campaigning the R1 if the option arises. Next Gen is also open to continuing if enough support can be sourced.

Team Trinder Aprilia team is another yet to make a decision on its future after fielding Kevin Curtain over the weekend – both declaring their ongoing involvement will come down to available budget on Sunday. It contested a part-time calendar this year.

On top of the major operations, uncertainty also currently clouds much of the privateer competitor base as they make their final decisions on what series and categories to contest upon finalising their 2015 racing funds.