Since the end of last year’s championship at The Bend Motorsport Park, there’s been a huge amount of team and rider changes, and many have utilised the offseason to fine tune their equipment in readiness for the season kickoff this weekend at Phillip Island, supporting the World Superbike Championship.
Here are five riders to keep an eye on throughout the year:
1. Mad Mike Jones - The hunter becomes the hunted
Last year was a career-defining one for the reigning and three-time Australian champion.
Having gone through a few indifferent years with Ducati which were plagued by injury and by the pandemic, the move to the Yamaha Racing Team was considered a big gamble by many.
The Blu Cru hadn’t won a championship in 15 years and were expecting big results. Fortunately for Jones, he was the shot in the arm that Yamaha needed.
Winning six races throughout the season, including a clean sweep at Queensland Raceway, Jones was prominently in the top three all year long to clinch his third championship in seven years.
He now joins an elite club of riders who have won three Australian titles and is now aiming for that elusive and record-breaking fourth title. But having carried the number one plate previously, he now carries a massive target on his back as he inherits the number once again.
The question is: can he fend off a hungry opposition and defend his title, as well as create championship history? Time will tell.
2. Troy Herfoss - Racing with a point to prove
It’s been a long and at times painful road to redemption for two-time champion Troy Herfoss.
His horrifying crash at Darwin’s Hidden Valley in June 2021 almost brought his career to a screeching halt, with serious fractures in his right arm and hip leaving a long road to recovery and rehabilitation.
To the surprise of many, he jumped back aboard his Honda Racing Fireblade at the final round of the 2021 championship as he chased for a third Australian title. But in truth, he was not race-fit and he struggled.
This continued into the first half of last season, as he was battling not only to get back into full race fitness, but overcome the mental traumas from that crash. Come the final round of last year, he was back in the winners’ circle when he took out race one. This was the sign that Honda’s main man was back in business.
Honda's Troy Herfoss is aiming to return to the top step in 2023. Photo: Karl Phillipson/Optikal Credit: Karl Phillipson
3. Josh Waters - Hungry for victory
It seems like a long time ago that Mildura’s Josh Waters last won the Australian Superbike Championship. In fact, it was back in 2017 when he rode for Team Suzuki Ecstar Australia.
Since then, Waters has been on a huge rollercoaster of luck and emotions. When Suzuki pulled the pin on ASBK at the end of 2019, Waters opted to go it alone as a privateer during the COVID-affected year of 2020, before enduring two short-lived and fruitless campaigns in 2021-22 with Kawasaki and BMW.
It wasn’t until he received a last minute lifeline with the Ducati-supported McMartin Racing team late last year - on the insistence of good mate and former Suzuki teammate Wayne Maxwell - that the former’s fortunes dramatically changed.
Top three podium finishes at last year’s penultimate round at Phillip Island, including a win in race three, confirmed that Waters was still a competitive commodity aboard the right bike and with the right team.
In 2023, he assumed the lead rider role at McMartin Racing following Maxwell’s confirmation of retirement at the end of last year.
Josh Waters set the fastest time on the official test day last month. He will be one of the hot favourites to win a record breaking fourth Australian title. Photo Karl Phillipson/Optikal Credit: Karl Phillipson
We’ll be watching with keen interest.
4. Cru Halliday - Determined to win ASBK for Yamaha
Sydney’s Cru Halliday has been knocking on the door for that elusive Australian Superbike Championship for quite some time.
He’s been a regular fixture for the Yamaha Racing Team for a number of years, winning the Australian Supersport Championship for them in 2018. But he has eyes for ASBK success and he’s been awfully close on a number of occasions. The closest he has got was back in 2020, when he finished runner up during the shortened three-round season.
Last year wasn’t the breakthrough that Halliday was hoping for. Despite finishing on the podium five times throughout the season, he was outshone by his newer and more credentialed teammate in Mike Jones. He also endured a mid season slump, which saw him finish outside the top 10 twice and suffer a race retirement at the penultimate round.
Eighth overall for the season is the worst result in the six seasons he’s contested the premier class, but his recent preseason form during the recent official test day quickly showed that Halliday is no pushover.
Cru Halliday is still chasing for that elusive maiden ASBK title. Photo: Karl Phillipson/Optikal Credit: Karl Phillipson
5. Broc Pearson - The future of Desmosport Ducati
Ducati’s factory team in the Australian Superbike Championship has long held a youth policy within its operations. In previous seasons, it has nurtured the likes of Callum Spriggs, Corey Turner and Oli Bayliss.
In 2023, team owners Ben Henry and Troy Bayliss are taking a chance on another rising star in Queenslander, Broc Pearson. Having won the 2021 Australian Supersport Championship aboard a Yamaha for his family team, Pearson moved up to the premier class last year with privateer team, 727 Moto. Despite some early promise, a disillusioned Pearson left the team after three rounds and contemplated his future, which is where Desmosport offered a lifeline.
Pearson quickly blossomed and matured under the guidance of Henry and Bayliss across the final three rounds of 2022, offering an effective backstop to his teammate, Bryan Staring.
Broc Pearson will carrying the hopes of Ducati in 2023. Photo: Karl Phillipson/Optikal
The 2023 Australian Superbike Championship kicks off this weekend at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit with three races, supporting the World Superbike Championship. Catch all the action this Sunday on SBS and SBS On Demand from 1pm (AEDT).
