The 2025 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) has provided its share of action across the opening four rounds of the season so far. In this edition of Rated, CycleOnline assesses the form of the Superbike round podium finishers to date.

Image: Foremost Media.

Rider: Josh Waters
Rating: A+
Rundown: It’s been a near picture-perfect start to the season for McMartin Racing’s Josh Waters, with the defending champion leaving no questions as to why he runs the number one plate in the Superbike category. Both he and his Ducati Panigale V4 R have been the class of the field this year, having dropped only two race wins from nine starts in 2025, excelling at each circuit, which is a dangerous proposition for the rest of the field. 53 points separate he from second-placed rider Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team), which makes this ‘A+’ rating quite an easy one at the halfway point of this season. It’ll be interesting to see how Waters attacks the following four rounds, and whether a championship mindset sees him take the hand off the throttle at all.

Rider: Mike Jones
Rating: A-
Rundown: As a former three-time champion of the class and the lead rider for the official Yamaha Racing Team, you’d have to think Jones would prefer to be closer in points to his series rival, Waters. Granted, a costly DNF out of his control during race one at Morgan Park put a significant dent in his title hopes, however, it hasn’t been the Queensland swing the number 46 probably had drawn up, having been notoriously strong in the Sunny State. Posting a 1-1 performance at Queensland Raceway just one year ago, Jones wasn’t able to match that in this year’s third round at ‘The Paperclip’, but he will get one more go at it as round five returns to the Ipswich-based venue to run alongside the Supercars Championship in early August. Jones, together with the team, will be looking for a rebound and a reset for this year’s remainder, to see if they can close in on first place.

Image: Foremost Media.

Rider: Anthony West
Rating: A-
Rundown: Addicted to Track’s Anthony West has been solid this season, having claimed three of four podium finishes as the season reaches its halfway mark. He also faces a sizeable deficit to Waters, but that’s the same story for everyone, so a relatively comfortable P3 placement in the standings – four markers from Jones in second – is a good spot to be with four rounds remaining. West notched P5 in the overall standings last year, so to climb two, maybe three, positions in 2025 would mark a successful year of racing. We feel ‘B+’ reflects his season to date, and we’re excited to see how the remainder of the championship unfolds for the 43-year-old.

Rider: Glen Allerton
Rating: B
Rundown: After seven seasons with BMW, three-time champion Allerton made a high-profile switch to the Superbike Advocates Team for 2025, racing on board the highly-capable Panigale V4 R. Pleased with the base platform from the get-go, the 44-year-old has taken steps towards further improving his new machine, which culminated in his first Superbike race victory since 2016 during Queensland Raceway’s second encounter at round three. As a result, he sits fifth overall after four rounds, three points from fourth-placed Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati). Currently five places higher than where he finished the 2024 series, we’ll give the ever-determined veteran an ‘A’ based on the significant strides he’s made so far this year.

Image: Foremost Media.

Rider: Cru Halliday
Rating: B-
Rundown: Halliday was running fourth overall leaving Phillip Island last year, three points from third place as he battled with the sport’s top contenders. Since then, the veteran rider has struggled to match that form, parting ways with the Yamaha Racing Team at the end of last year, and competing aboard a Stop and Seal Racing-prepared YZF-R1M for 2025. The 37-year-old has experienced a bit of a rollercoaster campaign so far, highlighted by a podium finish at round two at Sydney Motorsport Park. Currently ranked 10th overall, we’ll give Halliday a ‘B-’ given his team switch-up and transfer to Michelins, with plenty of time left to further refine the program and get back to his former top-five placements.

Rider: Broc Pearson
Rating: B+
Rundown: Much has been made of DesmoSport Ducati’s switch from Magneti Marelli electronics to the Motec system, with Pearson admitting that it is taking time for both he and the team to extract the best out of the updated components. Nevertheless, the form is beginning to come around for the Queenslander, who scored a strong second-place overall finish at round four in Morgan Park, despite explaining that he is still a ways off Waters’ McMartin-prepared V4 R. In his fourth season in the class, last year’s third-place finisher currently sits in fourth, and if the motorcycle continues to come around over the ensuing rounds, he may be able to chase down both West and Jones. Pearson earns a ‘B+’ in this edition of Rated.