It’s race week at Phillip Island and much of the international Superbike industry has assembled down in Victoria and ready for the weekend’s season-opening round of both the World and Australian Superbike Championships (at least for the Prostock and Supersport categories).

The two-day WSBK and Supersport test set the tone for a spectacular weekend of competition. First up it was Eugene Laverty and Leon Camier who shared the spoils, before Carlos Checa ultimately slotted his Ducati Panigale on top to conclude the test.

It was the wildcards that stood out from an Aussie perspective though, with Glenn Allerton 13th on his Next Gen Motorsports BMW and Jamie Stauffer directly behind for Team Honda Racing. On paper the results aren’t spectacular, but both are within 1.2 seconds of Checa.

When you consider that the modifications made to the bikes of Allerton and Stauffer are minimally above ASBK spec, that’s a special effort from the pair of them. Allerton has additional power, as does Stauffer, while the latter also has a few key chassis upgrades to suit WSBK rules.

But both are on their regular ASBK suspension and both are using near standard brakes from what we understand, so it’s a pretty neat indication just how great the current era of production bikes are. It’s also noteworthy that Honda has had to quickly adapt to the Pirelli tyres from their usual Dunlops.

Glenn Allerton was top Aussie in WSBK testing this week. Image: Andrew Gosling/TBG Sport.

In Supersport it’s so far been Stauffer’s teammate Josh Hook who has been the standout, lapping inside the top 10 for much of the test before eventually settling in 11th. Kevin Curtain and YRT were just a few spots behind, while Mitchell Carr and Matt Davies got their seasons underway in a progressive couple of days.

I’m stoked on the Aussie attendance this year and it really is hats off to Team Honda Racing, Next Gen, Yamaha and AARK Racing for standing up and taking the challenge. They’ve certainly added interest in the event and deserve our support.

The wildcards have thinned out the national support races a bit, with Team Suzuki’s Wayne Maxwell expected to win on debut aboard the GSX-R1000. But we’ll also see the likes of Glenn Scott (InsureMyRide Honda), Linden Magee (Next Gen Motorsports BMW) and Chas Hern (C.M.R Suzuki) in the mix and on debut.

There will be a total of 10 Superbikes on the grid including some locals, plus it’s great to see Ben Henry (Cube Racing Suzuki) and Beau Beaton (Racers Edge Suzuki). It looks as though Western Australian standouts Ralph Mammoliti and Adam Senior have also made the trek east!

Of course by Tasmania’s first point-scoring round of Superbike there will be Allerton, Stauffer and Hook back in the mix to challenge Maxwell, plus potentially Robbie Bugden if Suzuki can find extra funding to field the Volvo-backed satellite bike again.

Josh Hook was fast throughout Monday and Tuesday in WSS. Image: Andrew Gosling/TBG Sport.

While we’re at it, somebody please work out how to get Brodie and Nick Waters back on the grid – that’s talent that simply cannot go to waste after investing in the sport so heavily over the years (as so many have of course).

As for the Prostock ranks, there’s a very healthy grid of 22 for the race withing a race…

The new-look Supersport category (now combined with Superstock) is absolutely booming with 35 entries. There’s a nice mix of young guns such as Daniel Falzon, plus experienced campaigners like my brother Aaron Gobert and Chris Quinn, who have both stood on the ASBK Supersport podium in recent seasons.

And the big question for the weekend that we’re looking forward to seeing? Who will be on what tyres? Dunlop has Suzuki and Honda, we already know that, but what of the many privateers as Pirelli puts in a huge campaign to take their share of the national racing pie? Interesting times ahead.

That’s it for this week, we’re off to the Island tomorrow and this weekend will finally kick off what’s shaping up to be a pivotal season ahead. Thanks for stopping by!