Image: Rusell Colvin.

Newly-signed DesmoSport Ducati rider Bryan Staring enters this weekend’s Mi Bike Australian Superbike Championship season-opener at Phillip Island certain that missing last year’s final round will not be any major setback to the start of his 2022 campaign.

Staring missed The Bend’s 2021 ASBK season finals as a result of his previous Kawasaki BCperformance team withdrawing from the series, meaning his last national competitive outing was last June at Hidden Valley.

Both Staring’s own admission and his on-track performance indicate that the hiatus won’t be an issue, however, the Western Australian has seemingly come to grips quickly with the Ducati V4R. He finished the official Phillip Island test in P4, then appeared to make positive steps at Queensland Raceway during the following private test.

“It was incredibly disappointing [missing The Bend last year], but I don’t think that’s going to have any impact on this weekend,” Staring told CycleOnline. “If it was I missed the last half a dozen events or haven’t done any days on a motorbike all year, then that would start to get a bit concerning.

“But I’m confident that our pre-season testing has all been really positive and at the moment I hang my hat on the fact that we have all done a good job to this point. We feel ready.”

The 2010 Australian Superbike champion will begin his charge for a second premier class crown when on-track action commences this Friday for round one of the eight-round 2022 ASBK championship.