Aussies duo Broc Parkes and Bryan Staring have made a splash at the season-opening World Superbike Championship (WSBK) Australian Round at Phillip Island.

Newcastle’s Parkes produced some final lap heroics to claim the third and final podium position in an edge-of-your-seat finale to the World Supersport Championship (WSS) race.

West Australian Staring produced a masterclass to manoeuvre his way through from 18th on the grid to a brilliant 10th in Race One, before a sold 16th in Race Two.

After starting on pole, Parkes was quickly back to sixth in the field, but showed some quality late to guide his Ten Kate Honda to a podium result, while fellow Aussie and WSS debutant Jed Metcher impressed with an 11th placing.

The RivaMoto Yamaha rider came from 17th on the grid to occupy ninth heading into the final lap before slipping outside the top 10.

It was a tough weekend for our remaining three WSBK riders, with late call-up Josh Brookes coming to the fore on Sunday, with an impressive 16-15 result for the Crescent Fixi Suzuki team.

WSBK regular Mark Aitchison struggled to match the pace of his rivals, with his Grillini BMW only allowing him to finish the season-opener with a forgettable 18-DNF result.

A rollercoaster weekend ended on a low for Wildcard rider David Johnson, with the Rossiar AEP BMW machine failing the South Australian in race two after an impressive 19th first up.

After his engine failed during Saturday’s morning session, team officials were on the search for a replacement and managed to get Johnson on the starting grid for Sunday’s races.