Image: Foremost Media.

‘Not a bad weekend’ at Phillip Island has elevated Bryan Staring to P2 in the 2022 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) title race, the DesmoSport Ducati rider now effectively the number one contender to challenge Mike Jones for the title.

Staring notably has taken advantage of the wet track time provided throughout the year, and that combined with his rain-riding ability proved beneficial in the wet opening encounter at round six and he crossed the line first.

The number 67 completed race two at Phillip Island sixth, before edging Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) in the final bout on Sunday to finish second, also securing P2 overall for the round. With title-contender Wayne Maxwell suffering falls in races one and three, Staring now holds an 11-point advantage over the Boost Mobile Ducati with K-Tech rider while facing a 38-point deficit to Jones.

“The weekend started off with fourth in qualifying on super hot and fast track conditions,” Staring recalled. “The opening race was completely wet and one of the slipperiest races I’ve probably had in my life.

“I managed to get the win, which I and we [DesmoSport Ducati] were ecstatic about. It was a really, really enjoyable win, and so difficult because I felt like I could have crashed the bike at any moment of the race, tough conditions.

“The second race didn’t go that well, I didn’t really have the feeling I needed to push the bike. The last one there was a much strong race for me, I was finally back in the… not really racing for the lead, but in the group for second.

“I battled really hard, put myself where I needed to on the final lap and finished second across the line to take second for the weekend. First, sixth, second, not a bad weekend.”

Just one round remains in the 2022 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship, with a potential 51 points up for grabs in the premier class as riders and teams move to The Bend for the season finale next weekend.