Yamaha Racing Team’s Cru Halliday has established himself as a legitimate title contender in the 2020 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK), finishing second at Phillip Island’s opening round and displaying immense confidence aboard the latest YZR-M1.

Image: Russell Colvin.

Training on motocross…

Motocross is a huge benefit with keeping fit and a big part of my training. They say it’s the most physically demanding sport and really helps to keep me bike fit. We have a few tracks in the area that are accessible every week and now that restrictions are lifting I can add it back into my program.

Career path to ASBK…

I started in BMX with my brother, then it was onto motocross and 50 racing, which took us to the US with a big event in Vegas each year. After that I competed in supermoto, that gave me the tar bug and really set me up well for my road racing career particularly with braking.

Depth of the 2020 field…

The field is definitely stacked right now. I think at round one we had something like 12 Australian Superbike Championships on the grid with multiple riders that have competed overseas. There’s a lot of competitive bikes and teams this year, so it is definitely the strongest it’s been in a long, long time.

Image: Russell Colvin.

Racing alongside Supercars…

Supercars have a big audience, the events are huge and really professionally run. I got to compete in the 2011 event at Phillip Island and it was a great thing to be a part of.

Earning the championship in 2020…

Consistency. We started the year off so well, but fell away a little at the end. Wins will be nice, but if we can pick up from where we left off at round one and keep it going throughout the rest of the year, there’s no reason why we can’t bring home the championship. I’ve got a good team and great bike underneath me, so I will be giving it everything I can.