Features 30 Jan 2016

Cycle 360

An all-access Australian view of road racing, presented by Alpinestars.

It’s incredible to think that there will be 11 Australians on the grid at the Phillip Island World Superbike opener on 26-28 February. With it becoming increasingly harder for Aussies to make an impact on the world stage, this could be our riders’ real chance to shine.

Yesterday it was revealed Alex Phillis will race the World Supersport round alongside championship full-timers Glenn Scott, Aiden Wagner and Lachlan Epis, as well as local wildcards Anthony West, Kane Burns and Mitch Levy.

With the addition of Phillis, it’s now the largest Australian representation in a WorldSSP race at Phillip Island since way back in 2002 when the likes of Andrew Pitt, Chris Vermeulen and Kevin Curtain were in full-swing (won by Pitt on that particular weekend).

Source: Supplied.

Source: Supplied.

As well as the seven WorldSSP riders, four Australians will also compete in the two WorldSBK races at Phillip Island – Josh Brookes, Josh Hook, Mike Jones and Jed Metcher – so it’s shaping up to be a fantastic start to the season for local onlookers.

British Superbike Champion Brookes made a positive debut riding the brand new Milwaukee BMW S 1000 RR this week at Jerez alongside a host of series regulars. It wasn’t all smooth sailing, but the general feeling after his shakedown was that he should be competitive once the season gets underway.

Brookes wasn’t overly excited with his final lap time, nor did he try for a full race simulation, as instead he and the team worked feverishly to find a base setting on the BMW. They’re applying what they know to an all-new bike and you can bet that sooner or later they’ll have it right at the pointy-end. And he believes wins are within reach, which is a good early sign.

“The BMW is surprisingly similar to the R1, but I can’t compare too much at this early stage as it’s just two days on the BMW compared with a full season of racing on the R1,” Brookes told the Australian round organisers.

Source: Supplied.

Source: Supplied.

“At this moment in time it’s the same as any other new bike I’ve ridden. We have a bit of work to do, but we have two days next week at Aragon and two days at the Phillip Island test in race week. We have as much chance as anyone else on the grid!”

While all eyes were on WorldSBK this past week, attention will quickly turn to the Sepang MotoGP test on Monday when the first official outing of the year takes place. Australia’s Jack Miller will be absent due to his recently broken leg, however it will be nonetheless excited to see all the new bikes in action.

Today we have seen Casey Stoner just recently head out on track with the Ducati test squad, marking his highly anticipated return to the Desmosedici for the first time since 2010! More on that later.

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