ASBK Superbike and Supersport Qualifying round-ups from QLD Raceway

ASBK 2025

Round Three – QLD Raceway
SW-Motech Superbike Qualifying

The Saturday morning FP4 session saw some very quick times, including personal bests for some riders in what were almost perfect weather conditions at Queensland Raceway, with the top nine all in the 67s.

Mike Jones pipped Josh Waters for top spot in FP4, both men in the 67.2s, three-tenths clear of Broc Pearson.

Others in the 67 club this morning, in order of pace, were Anthony West, Cru Halliday, Max Stauffer, Arthur Sissis, John Lytras and Glenn Allerton.

Only a couple of the Supersport riders went quicker in the afternoon session compared to their morning times, so we were somewhat unsure of what pace to expect this afternoon when Q1 got underway at 1435.

Q1

Once Q1 did get underway it was Westy that was the first back into the 67s, a 67.671 on his first flying lap, but the veteran was quickly gazumped by Mike Jones, the YRT man breaking his own qualifying lap record with a 67.134 on his first run. Broc Pearson then went second quickest on 67.626, as Arthur Sissis and Cru Halliday both joined them in the 67s.

Pearson improved to 67.263 on his fifth lap to move up to second place, but one man was still yet to turn a wheel, that was, of course, Josh Waters…

The McMartin Racing man didn’t venture out of the pits until there were only ten-minutes remaining, no room for error.. Confidence, with a capital C… The Mildura Missile’s first lap a 67.856, definitely good enough to secure him a spot amongst the top 12 that would progress to Q2. Waters then improved to 67.306 to cement his place on the promotion roster and retired back to the garage.

Many riders failed to match the pace they displayed in the morning FP4 session.

Glenn Allerton has had numerous issues with the Advocates Racing Ducati again this weekend. He made numerous exits but the bike failed to run well enough for him to set a lap-time. A frustrating day for Allerton, especially when we know the potential of the package is there, if only they can get the bike reliable and on a good base setting.  He will start from the back of the grid on Sunday, I wouldn’t want to be just in front of him when the lights go out for race one…

Q1 Results

Q2

The final qualifying session for the top 12 got underway on schedule at 1505.

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Mike Jones broke his fresh qualifying lap record on his first flying lap, a 67.071, and he was more than a tenth under through the first split on the following lap…

Broc Pearson gazumped him first, though! A 67.034…

Then Waters smashed them both, a 66.983!

Jonesy returned fire with a 66.845!! He was four-thousandths slower through the first split on the following lap, four-hundredths under at the second split… but just missed besting his previous.. That second-best 66.845, though, would still have been good enough for pole. Jones then followed up with a 67.015.

Did Waters still have some left in the tank…?

The McMartin Ducati man rolled out of pit-lane again with around eight-minutes left on the clock. Only for some gentle rain to start falling around Queensland Raceway. That quickly turned into quite a downpour!

And that was it…

Jones, Waters and Pearson are our front row starters for tomorrow.

Anthony West heads row two, and alongside him are two riders whose cumulative age still doesn’t add up to the number of years Westy has been on the planet. He has been racing road bikes for much longer than either of them has been alive! It is great for us that he is still here and enjoying it, and even better that this year he has, for the first time in some years, a competitive motorcycle beneath him.

Max Stauffer will fire from fifth on the grid while John Lytras rounds out that second row. A personal best for Lytras and a great time for what really is a dad and son effort, with a bit of help on the side.

Rookie Jonathan Nahlous heads row three with Arthur Sissis and Cam Dunker alongside him. That trio all in the 67s, but more than a second slower than Jonesy’s benchmark.

Jack Favelle will start from tenth, ahead of Ty Lynch and Cru Halliday.  The latter of that trio failed to set a time in that Q2 session after running off the track early on, and then missing his second run due to the rain.

A notable absentee from the Superbike field this weekend is class mainstay Matt Walters. The Cessnock Kawasaki rider has stepped away from racing, at least for now, after deciding to hang up the leathers ahead of the round.

Also missing this round are Tom Toparis, who is sidelined by injury, and Tommy Edwards, who is not present this weekend due to machinery problems.

Race one is schedule to get underway at 1130 on Sunday morning ahead of the second and final 16-lap encounter for the weekend at 1455. The forecast is for fine conditions, but as we saw this afternoon, the weather can often be unpredictable here at Queensland Raceway.

Superbike Qualifying Results

Kawasaki Supersport Qualifying

Jack Mahaffy gave his Stop & Seal crew some work to do after crashing at Turn 2 on Saturday morning.

With Mahaffy’s bike coming to rest in a dangerous position, organisers temporarily halted the opening qualifying session.

When action resumed, it was Jesus Torres who topped the timesheets in the 25-minute session.

Jesus Torres, Tom Bramich, and Jack Mahaffy locked out the provisional front row after Qualifying 1, the only three riders to dip under the 71-second mark in the morning session. Friday pacesetter Olly Simpson was fourth quickest in Q1, followed by Will Nassif, Jake Farnsworth, and Hayden Nelson.

When the second and final qualifying session got underway at midday on Saturday, Josh Newman was among the first to improve, jumping to seventh on combined times. Hayden Nelson also made gains, moving up to sixth.

Jake Farnsworth was another key improver. With ten minutes remaining, he joined the sub-71 club and then dropped a 70.850, which stood the test of time, Farnsworth securing his first-ever Supersport pole position.

After some difficult times of late the pole meant a lot to Farnsworth and his crew.

Torres and Bramich secured their front row starts on their Q1 times. Likewise, Mahaffy and Simpson start on the second row courtesy of their Q1 times, with Hayden Nelson joining them on that second row after improving his pace in Q2.

Archie McDonald is absent from the grid this weekend due to overseas commitments, while young Cameron Swain has joined the Stop & Seal team for the round. Glenn Nelson, who came into the weekend fourth in the championship standings, is also sitting this round out.

Supersport Qualifying Results

Superbike Championship Standings

Supersport Championship Standings

2025 Australian Superbike Championship Calendar

Round	Location	Date
1	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC	Feb 21-23
2	Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW	Mar 28-29
3	Queensland Raceway, QLD	May 2-4
4	Morgan Park Raceway, QLD	Jun 13-15
5	Queensland Raceway, QLD (Superbike Only)	Aug 8-10
6	Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC	Sept 6-7
7	One Raceway, NSW	Oct 3-5
8	The Bend, SA	Nov 7-9