South Australia’s final round of the 2024 Mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) marked a record-breaking round as Josh Waters (McMartin Racing) stormed to a fourth premier class crown, while in the Supersport category, Yamaha-mounted Jonathan Nahlous secured the title with a race to spare. CycleOnline caught up with both riders after the races for this Debrief feature.

Superbike

Image: foremost Media.

Congratulations on being the first to make it to four championships – how much did that mean to you? You could tell just by looking that it meant a lot, and all four of your championships have come over such a long period of time as well, so what was that feeling like to actually clinch it?

Yeah, it was a great feeling. A lot of emotion, because things for a few years were difficult… I did my own thing and then with covid and everything like that, it was hard. And even last year things were going so well and then I got injured, so it was really special to get the job done this year. I felt like the year started off really, really well, and then I had quite a decent championship lead. I played it smart because that’s all everyone remembers is who wins at the end of the year, not who won this race and who won that. So maybe some experience there, but I’m so glad because it helped me get the job done.

You won your first one as a rookie in 2009, you’ve won it a couple of times since on top of that and then now this one. How would you compare this title to the ones at different stages of your career?

They’re all extremely special. This one, I wasn’t so competitive for a bit, but I never gave in and that’s what makes this one extremely special. And also a seven-year gap from winning my last one to now, so this one is for believing and not giving in.

When you look over the course of the season, we know that the trend is start strong at Philip Island, getting through those middle rounds – the Morgan Parks and that kind of thing – and then obviously comes down to the wire at The Bend. When you look back, were there any real particular highlights for you along the way? What was the standout?

Obviously the speed that I had for round one was very special to go as quick as I did, especially in qualifying and then win those races. A lot of it I was just happy with how I was able to go. I would like to improve at those other circuits – the middle part – because there’s no reason why I can’t challenge for wins or win at those ones, there’s no reason at all. So I just need to go with maybe a different mindset to compete there like I did. I really wanted it this final round, I really wanted to win one of those races, so I was really happy to win race two and then obviously happy with how it ended up.

When I look back at your career, obviously when you started on the Superbike it was Team Suzuki as a full on factory program, you tried your hand overseas a little bit, and you’ve been on some rides where it just hasn’t worked out along the way as well…

Yeah, there’s also parts where I’ve got personal loans to do it. That’s where I feel like I’m really, really happy because I believed, and I’ve been so fortunate that I’ve had some of my family support me. I’ve never given in, and also I’ve had some great personal sponsors along the way that haven’t given in, so I feel like I’m really, really happy with that. I know everyone has problems along in their life and all those things, but yeah, life’s changed a bit now. I also work a normal job and I’ve got my own business, so I’m really, really happy. But still, obviously my passion is racing, and that’s why I do it, which is passion… I want to do it, I want achieve what I was able to achieve.

What is that driving force behind it to when those times were tough? I don’t think it’s any real secret that the sport here is not exactly lucrative at all for the riders, so what was it? In the end it’s resulted in your own piece of history.

It’s just a passion I had inside that I wanted to prove to myself that I could still do it. And that’s why I wanted to do it. Like I said, I’m very fortunate that my family supported me, and I did what I did, and I had great people behind me. But there were times where my wife was probably like ‘what the hell’ [laughs].

When you first linked up with McMartin Racing, we obviously knew that particular team with a V4 R and saw what Wayne had done at that point. How important is it to, one, have the platform underneath you, but then the personnel around you? It seems collectively you guys are obviously the class of the field, but what’s that been like just to find an actual home again?

Yeah, it was awesome. Obviously it clicked come the MotoGP support races in 2022, to be able to achieve what I did that weekend, it obviously clicked. I was able to win three races, get the new lap record at the time, and I got on really well with Craig [McMartin] and Adrian Monte – it just all clicked. So I was very, very fortunate.

So where to from here? Is the fact that you’ve now become the person to make four championships, does the goal reset to go for five or are you satisfied? How do you even determine the next step?

I still have the passion, so yeah, I would love to go for five in ’25 – that would be pretty special. I still have that drive, I still have that passion. I want to win and that’s what I’d love to do, be the first to five.

Considering the stretch of championships that you’ve had to become the most winningest rider in the sport in terms of championships overall, what’s your thoughts on the current landscape of ASBK? The bikes, the equipment, the generational shift and we’re seeing more decent young riders come in… Do you think it’s heading in the right direction or do you think it needs more?

I think it’s good. There’s a new crop of young kids coming up, which is great. The championship can always get better with more spectators, that would be great, more people that know that we’re actually racing would be great. I think it’s going the right way. The rules and stuff, I think our bike’s fast at some circuits, but then other bikes are really quick at others, so it’s quite fair. It’d be great if some other manufacturers maybe come back into the championship, that would be awesome. But I think it was a positive year, and with the amount of young kids in Supersport that are looking to move up, hopefully they all learn off us and get going.

Would you say the competition is relatively high at the moment? I think ASBK has always been kind of known for just how competitive it is if you want to go ahead and win, so is that still the feeling on track as well?

100 percent, the feeling is still that it is quite high. With every national championship, it’s quite difficult. The level’s quite high, but it looks like now if you want to race overseas, you have to go at a young age, so it’s hard to get an opportunity. I hope the series can get bigger, a bit how it used to be, and it’d be great if the riders would want to stay and they could make a living.

Supersport

Image: Foremost Media.

Congratulations on sealing and clinching the championship, how did it feel to be able to get it done at the end of the season?

At the start of the season, I was not expecting that, and by the end of it, we’re celebrating the championship. To be honest, all I saw myself as was a rookie heading into this season, but we had the best possible start to the year getting pole position and three-race wins, and we brought that momentum through to Sydney Motorsport Park, but the whole season there were ups and downs, and your wins and your losses. We fought through all challenges and I feel we earned it, and I feel this celebration, it shouldn’t just be a short period of time – I will celebrate this for the rest of the year. It really is the best feeling ever and the team couldn’t work any harder. It’s always been a 100 percent from everyone, so it’s not just me who won the championship, it’s all of us. So for all of us, it’s the best feeling. It’s very satisfying.

You obviously had your wins and your successes along the way, but you were also able to manage the championship from the front. So what was that like each weekend, especially as the rounds ticked on, to know that you’re maintaining the points lead? I thought that was pretty impressive, the way you were able to control it and then in the end, obviously won it with a race to spare.

To be honest, we weren’t focusing on the championship. We were just focusing on race by race, race weekend by race weekend, and really that’s the way to do it. My dad has a saying ‘lap by lap, do the perfect lap, and that’s all you focus on for the moment’. And that’s it… perfect lap, lap by lap, race by race, that’s what you have to focus on. And that’s what we did focus on. What really helped me with the pressure and the expectation side of things as well. I’ve definitely come out it a lot mentally stronger this year. There definitely has been a lot of development within myself as well, with everything mentally and throughout the whole season.

Would you say it’s the way you started the season at Phillip Island that would that be the highlight for you? Were there any other points along the way that you look back on that really think that was instrumental to get that result?

Look, I feel we came back from the lows pretty good, I feel that’s a big highlight for us. And result-wise, Phillip Island is definitely my best result, and it’s definitely really high up there in the highlights, that’s for sure, but that’s not the whole story. So one of my biggest moments is coming back from one round, having a really bad round, going to the next round and having a really good round, so I feel being able to do that is a very strong and a big highlight for us.

Would that be for example, say Queensland Raceway and then into Morgan Park and being able to deliver there, that sort of thing?

Yes, that’s exactly right.

It’s obviously been announced that you’ll ride the Superbike next year and continue that progression in your career, so what was the thinking behind that? Because that deal was done relatively early, and now that you’re the champion, you won’t be defending as such, but what’s the thought behind going to the Superbike at this point?

My parents and myself, we’ve actually had a lot of thought on whether we go overseas and essentially race the 600s over there – we’ve had a lot of thought in different places to go and the best opportunity for myself, and we had this opportunity with MotoGo, and we thought through it, and we thought that stepping up would be the better decision. Especially with the costs of racing overseas and the commitment it takes with potentially having to live there. Staying here and moving up to Superbike, we feel I’m ready for a Superbike. I feel we’re at the point of my career that we’re ready to take another challenge like that. And we did a wildcard in the middle of the year in 600s at ESBK – I felt I could have been pretty competitive, but there were some unfortunate situations, like a crash I had over there and wet weather. I only had 17 dry laps before we went into racing, and I came out ninth with only very little experience on the bike and the track. I think the competition here is becoming very close to the competition over there, especially at least in 600s, and I feel we would want more of a challenge with the Superbikes and this category in Australia is a very high level also. It’ll be a very awesome experience, and I feel I’ll be able to develop myself as a rider better than going overseas potentially, so that’s the reasons why we decided to step up to the Superbike.

When you look at it at the moment, there’s this younger generation, the next generation of riders like yourself and Cam Dunker, and even Max Stauffer to an extent, with success in the lower categories and then racing the Superbike here. Does that excite you? One, you get to race the likes of Josh Waters, but at the same time, there is a crop of young riders that you can really put yourself among them. That’s got to be an exciting point for you, even if you’re playing a little bit of catch-up in terms of experience.

Yeah, exactly. I feel next year will be full of lots of experience and lots of young talent, so it’s a mix of both and I really think it’s a very high competition – it’s very high competition. I feel we’ll learn a lot in the next year, and like I said before, I will develop myself to become a better rider next year in the Superbike category.