Image: Foremost Media.

After taking the 2023 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship fight down to the wire, McMartin Racing’s Josh Waters has outlined firm ambitions to remain with the outfit in 2024 in a bit for his fourth ASBK title.

The announcement of Troy Herfoss’ exit from Penrite Honda Racing at the end of the year opened the door on the domestic silly season, and with ‘Herf’ winning his third Australian Superbike title on the weekend it only adds strength to his already impressive resume.

However, when asked about his team preference for next season Waters – a three-time ASBK champion in his own right who tested the Honda last year – was clear in where he wants to end up after a very solid 2023 campaign saw him win seven races and three rounds.

“McMartin Racing, I enjoy my time here and yeah we had a bloody successful year really,” he told CycleOnline. “It would be good to be in the same spot another year, and next year keep chipping away. Next year will be war for four, because there are a few of us that have won three championships.”

Waters entered the final round on the weekend level on points with Herfoss, and trailed the Fireblade racer by one after he qualified on pole.

In race one, despite having battled past Mike Jones in the mid part of the race, Waters was able to close on race leader Herfoss during the encounter’s second-half, ultimately taking the checkered flag second and within striking distance.

Waters spent time and the front and behind Herfoss in race two before a fall on lap eight ruled him out of championship contention. To his credit, he remounted and finished 10th, racing humbly with implications still in his wrist after that Suzuka 8 Hours incident.

“The pace all weekend was so fast, I knew it was going to be tough, so yeah, just happy with how I went, but disappointed that I crashed in the final race – at least I was trying,” he said. “I had a good feeling, in the last race, but I crashed.

“I wasn’t sure, then in the first race Mike [Jones] got ahead of me, and there was quite a gap, and I was able to make it back up. So I was thinking positively, because I thought ‘hey, if I wasn’t a second and a half behind it could have been a bit… it’s not that easy.”