Features 26 Feb 2017

Deadline

Recalling this week in road racing, presented by Alpinestars.

Round one of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) presented by Motul Pirelli has arrived at Phillip Island on World Superbike weekend and we couldn’t be any more excited, not only for this weekend, but also the entire season. Last year was good and this year is even better again.

When you consider where the ASBK was at just a couple of years ago in comparison to now, it’s pretty remarkable and the general feeling is that those on the grid are grateful for the efforts and investment put forward by Motorcycling Australia (MA). Hopefully we can all benefit from the opportunity ahead of us within the sport and so far, everybody is pushing hard to make it work.

Seeing eight different manufacturers presented pre-race and then browsing the entry lists displays the type of depth we’re witnessing and, as a result, it’s becoming super-hard to predict who will be on top, who will be on the podium and even who will make the top 10. That’s how much talent we’re seeing in the premier class and even the Supersport/Supersport 300 fields are packed.

Image: Keith Muir.

It’s funny because although the Motul Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) gets underway this weekend and Aussies are historically huge supporters of the production-based series, much of the local attention has been on the ASBK. We’re covering both as closely as we can, especially the Aussies in the world championship field once all’s said and done, and it’s shaping up to be a fascinating Sunday.

And lets get behind the Australians in WorldSBK and World Supersport at their home round today. Josh Brookes is the lone local on the Superbike start-line and will be up against it as a privateer after experiencing mechanical dramas in race one, but don’t forget the fact that he is one of our very best riders in the world at the moment. Sure, he hasn’t had the success he’d like in the world championship to date, but as the 2015 British champion he is a big deal to have racing at home.

Same with Anthony West in WorldSSP, who put it on the podium last year as a wildcard and is back for more. I remember when he first went to Europe in 1999, was fortunate enough to sample his factory Kawasaki MotoGP bike in 2007 and have followed his career pretty much the entire way to different extents. Right now this is the only time we’ll get to see him in 2017 and he could be a contender come Sunday after experiencing all types of trouble so far.

Source: Supplied.

The WorldSSP regulars, Aiden Wagner and Lachlan Epis, are extremely talented young guys and I’ve long rated Wagner as an impressive newcomer. As for Epis, who is a full-on privateer in the world championship, the progress he’s made as a rider over the past year or so has been particularly good to watch, especially considering his inexperience prior to heading overseas.

It’s been a great weekend so far, albeit a bit of a whirlwind in comparison to the regular standalone rounds, and we are all set for a huge race day Sunday.

Anyhow, that’s it from me for this week, thanks for stopping by as usual! Make sure you check out all of CycleOnline.com.au’s social networking channels and be sure to Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for even more behind the scenes insights. Just search CycleOnline.

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