Image: Andrew Gosling.

Next Gen Motorsports is the latest high profile team to switch to the Australasian Superbike Championship (ASC) fulltime for 2014, officially exiting the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK).

The Melbourne-based operation, which won the ASBK title with Glenn Allerton aboard a BMW in 2011, is a significant addition to the ASC series, which has quickly gained support as the premier national road racing series this year following a failed merger with Motorcycling Australia’s ASBK series.

Next Gen has participated in a number of ASC events (formerly the Australian FX-Superbike Championship) since its inception, however the ASBK had remained the team’s focus in championship terms.

In 2014 the ASC will be Next Gen’s priority, while the team isn’t ruling out the possibility of a guest ASBK appearance at the Phillip Island 2+4 round alongside the V8 Supercars. It will also participate in the Phillip Island Championship.

“Following Suzuki’s exit from the ASBK, we wanted to ride with the best riders in the country, so we chose to swap,” Next Gen co-owner Nathan Webb told CycleOnline.com.au this afternoon.

“There’s more consistency with [ASC] and what you see is what you get. I don’t want to be detrimental to the ASBK, but we needed to make a decision and we think the future of the ASBK series is still uncertain considering the lack of information.”

Next Gen is poised to finalise its rider line-up and choice of manufacturer in further announcements within the next week, continuing to negotiate with Allerton and BMW upon the switch to ASC.

It’s another concerning blow for the ASBK series, with Yamaha Racing Team already fielding a quality four-rider factory ASC team and Next Gen recognised as one of the sport’s premier outfits in the country. Privateer Ben Henry’s Cube Racing team will also depart the ASBK in favour of ASC for 2014.

With current ASBK champion Team Suzuki’s hopes of defending its championship decreasing by the day as Phil Tainton Racing struggles to find additional funding after Suzuki dropped much of its support, and Next Gen now heading to ASC, Team Honda Racing’s position will prove vital in the ASBK’s future prospects.

Last year Next Gen finished runner-up in the ASBK series with Glenn Allerton and eighth with rookie Linden Magee, while Ben Nicolson scored second in the Prostock series.