ASBK Superbike and Supersport Qualifying round-ups from SMP

ASBK 2025

Round Two – SMP

SW-Motech Superbike Qualifying

Sydney Motorsport Park defied the forecasts for increasing rain today and provided riders with a track that got better and better as the day progressed.  Josh Waters dropped in a 1m29.854 in FP3 to underline the fact that there was speed in the track as the sun set across the circuit. And that was not the only 29 in that session from the McMartin Racing man.

Jack Favelle uncorked one out of the bag in FP3 to go second quickest with a 1m30.102 on the Addicted To Track Yamaha. Mike Jones was a fraction behind in third.

Glenn Allerton finally managed to put in a decent lap time after experiencing problems in the previous sessions with the Advocates Ducati. A 1m30.444 on what was really his only real flying lap of the three sessions underlining the promise that is there should it all come together for Allerton and the team.

The opening 20-minute Qualifying Session got underway under lights on a dry track at 2030 on Friday evening. Riders only needed to ensure they were in the top 12 to earn promotion to the Q2 session that would decide the first four rows of the grid. That meant that most of the heavy hitters did the minimum required to go through to Q2, and there were few surprises in the make-up of that top dozen at the end of Q1. Matt Walters, Tom Edwards and Arthur Sissis were the most fancied runners to miss the cut.

Things got a bit more serious with a championship point on the line for pole and with that the best chance of getting away clear of the spray should the forecast heavy rain eventuate tomorrow, and that seems pretty certain.

Riders wasted no time getting down to business when the pit exit opened for Q2 on time at 2100. The threat of rain arriving at any moment hung over pit-lane, and you could feel the moisture level rising in the air…

Tom Toparis was black-flagged on the opening lap for not having the correct tail-light on the Stop & Seal YZF-R1M.

Mike Jones was the first rider to drop in a 30, a 1m30.466 to the YRT man on his first flying lap, and then improved to 1m30.450 on the following lap. He was quickly joined in the 30s by Cru Halliday and Jack Favelle. Broc Pearson also joined that club on the following lap.

Halfway through the session Josh Waters was still to drop in a quick one… The defending champ had speed to burn in the practice sessions but that pace seemed to have deserted him in the dark.

With six-minutes left on the clock all riders were back in the pits. At this juncture it was still Jones leading from Halliday, Pearson and Favelle. Waters was seventh, and it was now sprinkling light rain… So that was all she wrote…

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Mike Jones put in his quick lap early and reaped the dividends with pole position.

Cru Halliday and Broc Pearson join Jones on the front row.

Jack Favelle will head row two with Cam Dunker and Max Stauffer alongside him, while Josh Waters will start from the third row.

The first 13-lap Superbike race is scheduled to get underway at 1655 on Saturday afternoon. The second and final bout for the round will unfold under lights from 2100. The rain is forecast to set in properly around midnight tonight and continue throughout Saturday, with 20-40 mm expected.  However, it looks as though there might be a break in the rain right around the scheduled time of the second Superbike race…

Superbike Qualifying Results

Kawasaki Supersport Qualifying

The Stop & Seal boys wasted little time establishing the pecking order in the opening Supersport qualifying session. Together on the track, the pair both put in 1m31s on their fourth lap of the session and then returned to the pits. McDonald a 1m31.709, Mahaffy a 1m31.813. Those times would have been good enough for a top ten in the previous Superbike FP2 session. Nobody got within 1.5-seconds of the Stop & Seal duo throughout the entire 25-minute session.

The second and final Supersport Qualifying session got underway under lights at 1937 on a dry track. Jake Farnsworth was the first to improve on his Q1 time, knocking three-tenths off his previous best with a 1m33.163.

Late in the session, Olly Simpson dropped half-a-second off his previous best to improve to 1m33.564. Hayden Nelson also marginally improved on his Q1 time but when all was said and done Archie McDonald was still on top despite not turning a wheel in Q2.

Alongside Archie on the front row is his Stop & Seal team-mate Jack Mahaffy; then there is a chasm back to Jack Farnsworth in third.  The difference between first and third a huge 1.35-seconds.  The difference between first and tenth a huge three-seconds… That is some domination here today by the Michelin-shod Stop & Seal boys.

The opening 11-lap Supersport bout is scheduled to get underway at 1555 on Saturday afternoon. The lights go out for the second and final bout of the round two weekend under lights at 1950 on Saturday evening.

Supersport Qualifying Results

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