The 2024 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) returned under the lights of Sydney Motorsport Park over the weekend, and we’ve compiled comments from a number of different riders to see how their weekends went for this Quotebook feature.

Superbike

Image: Foremost Media.

Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati) – Third overall:
Not gonna lie, that felt pretty good! My pace in qualifying was good with a 1m29.4s, the fastest I’ve ever been around here, and I was in the top three off the start in race one, but it was red flagged and I just never quite clicked properly and basically salvaged sixth. For the night race, we started on slicks, I committed and had good track position, but the rain got heavier and the red flag came out again. Troy and I got out front after the restart which was a great feeling, and great for the team, but Troy had a crash, and [I] managed to race to second, my first ASBK Superbike podium and third overall.

Troy Herfoss (DesmoSport Ducati) – DNF:
You know what, Saturday night definitely didn’t go as I expected, but I walk away from the weekend satisfied with what we achieved as a team. We both set PB’s in the 1m29s and Broc cemented himself as a championship contender. My crash in the warm-up caused an issue with the bike that wasn’t visible in the box and I couldn’t start race one, and in race two I was feeling comfortable in the lead, my first time riding this bike in the wet, hit a bump mid-shift and before I knew it, I was on the ground. I can honestly say it’s the first time I’ve left a superbike race with no points and still felt like we’d had a successful weekend and achieved a lot, so thank you to Broc, Charlie, Ben, Giulia, Ken, Ian and Dave for that.

Max Stauffer (Penrite Racing SBK) – Fifth overall:
Topped off the weekend with a podium, I’m stoked. It was such a tough lead-up breaking my wrist three weeks ago, but we worked through our processes and it’s great to have such a strong team around me with the Penrite Racing team. It was also great to have our sponsors come along and support us, thanks to Penrite for being there to witness a great result it was awesome to see. Also great to have the ongoing support of my friends and family, I can’t thank the team enough and look forward to getting to round three, bring on Queensland.

Cameron Dunker (Penrite Racing SBK) – Seventh overall:
We made a lot of good steps forward this weekend, I’m feeling great. We started off the weekend pretty far off the pace but come qualifying we were within about one second which showed our progress. The first race was really good, I worked my way through from ninth to fifth and then race two, the wet race we struggled a lot, my first time on a superbike in the wet, it was a bit difficult, but I did have a lot of fun. The night race was a great atmosphere, and great to meet some of the Penrite staff, and to have sponsors coming to see our garage, thanks to everyone who supports us and we look forward to Queensland next month.

Glenn Allerton (GT Racing) – 15th overall:
The support from our sponsors and the dedication of our pit crew has been instrumental in our performance. Their belief in us drives us forward and pushes us to excel on the track.

Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing Team) – Second overall:
I was pretty determined to have a good weekend here at my home track and get some momentum back after a tough first round. We had a bit of everything thrown at us over the last two days, but the team did great job in dealing with my crash and then being prepared for the rain when the wet weather came. In a lot of ways it was very similar to last year, even how the first race was unfolding, it had the same feel about it, but as I got closer to the Ducati’s, I could see they didn’t have the pace they had at the start of the race and I had to make the most of the fast bike I had. Then the rain just throws everything out the window and it’s just a matter of survival sometimes. History shows it’s almost impossible to win this championship with a DNF, so staying on two wheels and finishing the race becomes the priority.

Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) – Eighth overall:
The goal is to try and win every race or round we come to and it’s disappointing when I can’t achieve that, but one of the positives I can take away from here was my race pace had improved significantly. Last year, I was running third in the opening race, but a long way from the front, this year I was on pace from thee start and felt I had more in the tank right at the end, so the bike and my fitness are good. I also acknowledge that I do need to get better in wet conditions. It just takes me too long to get the right feel in the wet and read the track well enough to know when and where to push, so it’s something I will work on and improve as you never know how many wet events we are going to race. Thanks to the Yamaha Racing Team for another huge effort on the weekend and my friends and family that came out to support me.

Supersport

Image: Foremost Media.

Tom Toparis (Stop & Seal Racing – First overall:
That was a great weekend on the bike. Bryan, Reece and Pacey worked hard all weekend to keep improving the bike, and to be honest, even though I was confident we could break Jamie’s [Stauffer] lap record, I was surprised at just how fast that lap time actually was. I’m really happy with the program Robbie and Claire have built and I’m really appreciative of the support they’re giving me, and all the Stop and Seal riders. Pole position, lap record and two race wins. It doesn’t get any better than that.