Features 9 Jul 2014

Cycle Central: 27

A front row view of Australian road racing, presented by Alpinestars.

A small lull in domestic championship racing only serves to heighten anticipation ahead of the next events on the calendar which are positioned relatively close together.

There’s around a week until entries close for the second round of the Australian Superbike Championship, which, as we know, is also the final round.

Chatter on social media suggests entries are still well short of their potential, and we’ll watch with interest as final class numbers are confirmed in the lead up.

There’s been some promotion of the event, including the release of ticketing details. Prices seem fairly reasonable, which will make the event accessible to those thinking of making the trip.

While there will be a lot of attention turned towards this event, it probably won’t be a make or break outcome. MA picked up the ball when it was dropped and it has made no secret that its focus is on 2015.

One thing certain is that at the end of it all, regardless of whether it was a two or 20-round affair, there will be a new Australian Superbike Champion, plus of course new champions in the secondary tier categories.

Slotting in between the ASBK finale and the fourth round of the Australasian Superbike Championship (ASC) is the Suzuka 8 Hour, in which we’ll again see plenty of local representation.

At present a handful of Aussies are overseas participating in the final days of their multi-day test programs.

All of Team Honda Racing will be represented in once capacity or another, with Jamie Stauffer, Troy Herfoss and Josh Hook on Fireblades, will Team Motul Honda’s Wayne Maxwell will continue in his program with the Yamaha Austria Racing Team.

A handful of our top internationally-based Aussies have also been drafted in for the event, testing this week or having tested prior.

It was good to catch up with Josh Waters earlier this week, another local rider who’ll be a surefire podium contender at the Suzuka event.

Image: Toby Lynch.

Image: Toby Lynch.

It hasn’t been the easiest of seasons for the second year British Superbike talent, but it was good to hear him upbeat about the team’s continued improvements as it looks to match pace with the likes of the Kawasaki and Yamaha frontrunners.

Looking towards the weekend now and we’re excited to pick up where things left off with that epic MotoGP battle at Assen. Germany’s Sachsenring hosts the ninth grand prix of the season, and the question on everybody’s mind is, who will stop Marc Marquez?

Can Dani Pedrosa be the one to halt the barnstorming surge of wins or will either of the Movistar Yamahas make the necessary steps forward? Ducati’s improvement is another talking point and it remains to be seen if their solid run of late can convert to another podium in regular racing conditions.

Landmark performances from both Ant West and Broc Parkes will be tough to beat this weekend, with the Aussies star rides in the Netherlands putting the spotlight on our domestic talent pool.

The Moto3 battle will be another to watch, with Jack Miller probably needing a podium now to keep his confidence at the level it needs to be. Miller’s been the talk of intriguing contract discussions for the past seven days, and he’ll need to put any of those distractions behind him to focus on his current goal of winning the third-tier title.

As usual we’ll be keeping you updated via our social media channels. Just search ‘CycleOnline’ on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest.

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