ASBK 2026

Round Five – QLD Raceway – Saturday
SW-Motech Superbike Race Two

Images by RbMotoLens

The final SW-Motech Superbike race of the 2026 ASBK season arrived with the biggest prize already decided, but with no shortage of reasons for the front-runners to keep swinging at Queensland Raceway.

Harrison Voight had wrapped up the 2026 Australian Superbike Championship in Race One, finishing second behind Cru Halliday to move 27 points clear of McMartin Racing team-mate Josh Waters, with only 25 still available. The number one plate had changed hands inside the same garage, and the young Queenslander could head into the last race of the year without the same championship pressure that had shaped the opening 16-lap contest.

That did not mean there was nothing left to settle. Halliday’s Race One victory, combined with his pole point from Saturday, had moved him to 161 points and into third in the championship, only one point ahead of Cameron Dunker. Mike Jones, on 147, and Glenn Allerton, on 146, were still mathematically in the conversation for the final championship podium position, while Jonathan Nahlous, on 140, remained close enough to influence how that fight played out.

Halliday had been fast all weekend and converted that pace into victory in the opening race, stalking Jones before taking the lead and holding off Voight to the flag. With the title decided, Race Two gave the Stop & Seal Racing rider the chance to finish the season with a double and lock away third in the standings.

Voight, meanwhile, had already done the heavy lifting. His Race One runner-up finish, and the new 1m07.093 race lap record he set on lap three, underlined that he had the pace to fight for the win even while riding with the championship equation in mind. Freed from that calculation, the newly crowned champion had the opportunity to race purely for the final victory of the season, but with rain sweeping across Queensland Raceway and an overseas flight looming ahead of his next commitment in Europe, Voight elected to sit this one out and watch from the sidelines.

Waters also had something to prove. The outgoing champion had finished fourth in Race One and formally surrendered the crown to his McMartin Racing team-mate, but the final race offered a chance to end his title defence on a stronger note.

Jones had led the early stages of Race One before Halliday and Voight pushed through, and with Queensland Raceway traditionally a strong venue for the Yamaha Racing Team rider, he remained one of the obvious threats. Nahlous had also been right with the lead group early, while Allerton, Dunker, Jack Favelle, Anthony West and Olly Simpson all had pace enough to make the final Superbike race of the year anything but ceremonial.

Rain changes the picture

Rain showers swept across Queensland Raceway before the start, leaving the circuit officially wet and the final Superbike race taking place in light rain. With Voight sitting it out, John Lytras also sidelined after an engine failure in morning warm-up, and Ty Lynch not taking the start, only 12 riders fronted the grid.

Rain was still falling slightly as riders completed their warm-up lap, but it was Jones who got away best when the lights went out for the final Superbike race of the season. Olly Simpson then scythed through to the lead from the fourth row on the run to Turn 2, with an equally fast-starting Allerton slotting in behind him, Waters moving into third and Jones shuffled back to fourth.

Pole-sitter Halliday, meanwhile, was buried in the pack and would end the opening lap seventh, behind Simpson, Allerton, Waters, Jones, Nahlous and Dunker.

Simpson makes the break

Up front, Simpson immediately made the most of the conditions, stretching his advantage over Allerton to 1.382 seconds by the end of the opening lap and 1.929 seconds by the end of lap three.

Allerton, in turn, had a handy buffer over Waters, while Nahlous and Jones swapped places in the opening laps and the rest of the pack began to settle into a wet-weather rhythm.

Further back, the action was unfolding around Halliday, Dunker, Morgan McLaren-Wood, Anthony West and Nahlous. Halliday initially slipped as far back as ninth, while McLaren-Wood, West and Dunker were having their own contest before that group began closing on those ahead.

The conditions brought McLaren-Wood right to the fore. The Kiwi moved into fifth by lap four, fourth by lap five, and third by lap 11 as he worked his way past a string of more established front-runners.

West was also right in that fight until his DesmoSport Ducati stopped at Turn 4 after six laps, ending the Queenslander’s race just as he looked set to make further progress.

McLaren-Wood charges, then slips

McLaren-Wood’s charge was one of the stories of the race. After forcing his way past Waters and Jones, he held third from lap 11 through lap 14 and looked a genuine chance of claiming a remarkable wet-weather podium.

That contest was unfolding more than ten seconds behind the leaders, but it was producing plenty of the late-race intrigue as Jones regrouped and began to claw back ground.

Unfortunately for McLaren-Wood, the podium shot disappeared late in the race when he ran wide at Turn 3. He dropped from third to seventh by the end of lap 15, leaving Jones to inherit the final step of the rostrum.

Allerton reels in Simpson

Up front, the battle for victory had been tightening. Simpson led the first 13 laps, but Allerton had been steadily taking chunks out of the DesmoSport Ducati rider’s advantage. The gap was down to 0.963 at the end of lap 11, 0.803 at the end of lap 12, and only 0.179 at the end of lap 13.

Allerton then took over on lap 14, crossing the stripe 0.088 ahead of Simpson with two laps remaining. From there, the three-time Australian Superbike Champion was not about to let the opportunity slip.

Simpson remained close enough to threaten and again got a strong run through the double-left on the final lap, but Allerton had enough in hand through the final sector to enjoy a clean run to the chequered flag.

Allerton took the victory by 0.843 of a second from Simpson, giving Superbike Advocates Racing a strong finish to the season. Simpson, who had already starred in Supersport / Next Gen, added a Superbike runner-up finish to an already impressive Sunday.

Jones took the final step on the podium, 11.601 seconds behind Allerton, but with a clear seven-second buffer over Waters. Halliday endured a difficult race, running deep on several occasions, but regrouped to work his way forward to fifth in the closing stages.

Dunker took sixth by a nose from the recovering McLaren-Wood, the pair separated by only 0.029 of a second at the flag. Nahlous was a further 8.168 seconds back in eighth, well clear of Favelle, while Josh Newman rounded out the top ten and was the final finisher.

Allerton’s 1m16.153 on lap nine stood as the fastest lap of the race, a long way outside the new dry race lap record set by Voight earlier in the day, but the benchmark in a wet final contest.

Final championship picture

Only 12 starters, ten finishers, and the newly crowned champion watching from the sidelines made for a slightly unusual end to the short 2026 ASBK season, but Race Two still delivered a lively wet-weather contest and some late movement in the championship order.

Voight finished the season as champion on 218 points, ten clear of Waters. Halliday’s fifth place was enough to secure third in the championship on 177 points, just two ahead of Dunker. Allerton’s victory lifted him to fifth on 171, ahead of Jones on 165 and Nahlous on 153.

McMartin Racing completed a dominant year by topping the Superbike teams standings on 422 points, while Ducati claimed the manufacturers crown on 1072 points.

The Penrite Australian Superbike Championship presented by Pirelli will move to a new summer format for 2026-27, with a six-round schedule set to run from October 2026 through to March 2027.

The new calendar opens with a high-profile appearance at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island on October 23-25, before the championship continues at The Bend, One Raceway, Queensland Raceway and Phillip Island again, ahead of a grand final under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park in March.

Superbike Race Two Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	G Allerton	Duc	20m34.587
2	O Simpson	Duc	+0.843
3	M Jones	Yam	+11.601
4	J Waters	Duc	+18.597
5	C Halliday	Duc	+19.390
6	C Dunker	Yam	+19.954
7	M McLaren-Wood	Yam	+19.983
8	J Nahlous	Yam	+28.151
9	J Favelle	Yam	+34.694
10	J Newman	Duc	+38.875
DNF	A West	Duc	+9 Laps
DNF	L Durning	Duc	+14 Laps

Final Superbike Championship Points

Pos	Rider	Bike	Points
1	H Voight	Duc	218
2	J Waters	Duc	208
3	C Halliday	Duc	177
4	C Dunker	Yam	175
5	G Allerton	Duc	171
6	M Jones	Yam	165
7	J Nahlous	Yam	153
8	J Favelle	Yam	142
9	J Roulstone	Hon	124
10	J Lytras	Yam	97
11	A West	Duc	84
12	O Simpson	Duc	77
13	L Durning	Duc	75
14	M Hamod	Hon	74
15	J Newman	Duc	62
16	T Lynch	Yam	49
17	C Holding	Yam	39
18	B Wilson	Yam	30
19	M McLaren-Wood	Yam	23
20	J Quinn	Yam	18
21	M Kemp	Yam	18
22	L Jones	Yam	15
23	D Adams	Suz	14
24	M Rindel	Yam	14
25	R Hudson	Yam	4
26	R Jamieson	Yam	4
27	A Senior	Yam	3
28	M Carr	Hon	1
29	R Markham-Barrett	BMW	1

Final Superbike Teams Championship Points

Pos	Team	Points
1	McMartin Racing	422
2	Yamaha Racing Team	322
3	Superbike Advocates Racing	239
4	DesmoSport Ducati	219
5	Blue Marlin Pools East Racing	204
6	Stop and Seal	202
7	Motocity	201
8	Addicted to Track	147
9	IRT Motorsport	66
10	Desmosport Ducati	31
11	AMR Motorsport	29
12	Unitek Racing	26

Final Superbike Manufacturers Championship Points

Pos	Manufacturer	Points
1	Ducati	1072
2	Yamaha	949
3	Honda	199
4	Suzuki	14
5	BMW	1

2026-2027 ASBK Calendar

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