Round one of the 2016 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) presented by Motul Pirelli will take off this weekend at Phillip Island, alongside the opening round of the Superbike World Championship. CycleOnline.com.au previews what’s to come when the lights go out.

Image: Russell Colvin.

Form

Our pick:
Jamie Stauffer – It’s one of the more difficult circuits to predict a winner at, however Crankt Protein Honda Racing’s Jamie Stauffer was quick out of the gates at the recent Phillip Island ASBK test and should carry that form into the race weekend. It’s going to take a massive effort, but we’re tipping the number 27 for the win even if we could cover the top five or more with a blanket.

Next best:
Glenn Allerton – Yamaha Racing Team’s triple ASBK champion won a race at the MotoGP supports in October and is eager to get to year underway. A lack of testing for the YRT trio will make life harder than otherwise, however Allerton’s experience is high enough to overcome that.

Outside chance:
Mike Jones – Winner of last year’s MotoGP supports overall and fastest in the pre-season test, national champion Mike Jones will make his DesmoSport Ducati debut. But it’s going to be a hard task with the addition of a WorldSBK wildcard on the schedule as well – that’s 74 racing laps alongside all the individual practice/qualifying sessions. It will either work for or against him.

Watch for:
Troy Herfoss, Wayne Maxwell, Cru Halliday, Daniel Falzon, Brayden Elliott.

Rider lists

Superbike:
1 Michael Jones
3 Ryan Hampton
11 Philip Czaj
12 Gary Smith
14 Glenn Allerton
15 Nick Marsh
16 Michael Blair
17 Troy Herfoss
18 Ashley Manuel
20 Matt Walters
22 Trent Gibson
23 Peter Berry
24 Robbie Budgen
25 Daniel Falzon
26 Patricia Fernandez
27 Jamie Stauffer
31 John Hunt
33 Sloan Frost
38 Linden Magee
42 Jason Ivkovic
47 Wayne Maxwell
51 Brayden Elliott
54 Adam Christie Ace
55 Colin Brooks
60 Ben Burke
62 Kris Keen
65 Cru Halliday
70 Andrew Eccles
73 Tony Keogh
77 Adam Senior
78 Nathan Spiteri
88 Brendan Schmidt
98 Evan Byles
100 Scott Watterson
131 Caillin Simcock-Bailey

Supersport:
4 Brendan Wilson
12 Mark Chiodo
13 Ben White
14 Shane Maggs
15 Rylee Simons
19 Tommy King
22 Glenn Nankervis
23 Riki Lanyon
25 Ben Blyth
26 Matt Price
27 Nic Liminton
29 Patrick Li
32 David Rougaley
33 Jack Twisse
36 Sam Clarke
41 Nathan Norris
44 Jessica Watkins
47 Jonny Taylor
50 Callum Spriggs
52 Ryan Taylor
61 Rhys Belling
65 Troy Guenther
66 Hayden Spinks
69 Ryan Masri
71 Terry Dixon
72 Brad Shaw
74 Cam Russell
75 Colin Lewis
76 Scott Gapps
77 Robbie Menzies
82 Chris Quinn
83 Kyle Buckley
88 Harrison Cox
92 Ted Collins
96 Luke Mitchell
97 Luke Horewood

Moto3/125GP:
13 John Stafford
15 Locky Taylor
17 Brian Houghton
24 Matt Barton
27 Lachlan Keogh
28 Tayla Relph
37 Jack Mahaffy
47 Jacob Street
69 Benjamin Leonard
71 Tom Edwards
75 Lachlan Kavney
86 Dallas Skeer
89 Tayla Street
169 Dylan Whiteside

Circuit location

Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
Back Beach Rd
Phillip Island, VIC

Circuit facts

Length: 4.445 kilometres

Turns: 12
Superbike lap record: Wayne Maxwell 1m32.316s (2013)
Supersport lap record: Bryan Staring 1m35.200s (2009)

Event entry

Information here or tickets available at the gate.

Three-day $150
Friday $40
Saturday $70
Sunday $90
All children 15 and under accompanied by an adult are free

Event schedule

Gates are open to the public from 8:00am on Friday and 7:00am on Saturday/Sunday. Track activity listed here.

2016 series calendar

Rd1 – 26-28 February – Phillip Island, VIC (WorldSBK)
Rd2 – 25-27 March – Wakefield Park, NSW
Rd3 – 16-17 April – Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW
Rd4 – 3-5 June – Barbagallo Raceway, WA
Rd5 – 5-7 August – Morgan Park, QLD
Rd6 – 30 September-2 October – Winton Motor Raceway, VIC