ASBK Friday: West fastest, Voight closing as heat tempers improvements

Round One – Phillip Island – Day One

SW-Motech Superbike

Many ASBK riders failed to improve in the markedly warmer afternoon conditions at Phillip Island as track temperatures climbed beyond 40-degrees.

Anthony West’s final lap from FP1 remained the benchmark across the opening day. His 1m31.492 stood unchallenged through FP2 as the DesmoSport Ducati recruit struggled to secure a clear lap in isolation during the hotter afternoon session.

Anthony West’s FP1 1m31.492 remained the benchmark as track temperatures soared beyond 40°C at Phillip Island – Image RbMotoLens

McMartin Racing’s Harrison Voight reduced West’s margin to a scant five-thousandths of a second and again displayed strong, repeatable pace on the V4 R.

Harrison Voight closed to within five-thousandths of West on Friday afternoon – Image RbMotoLens

Teammate and defending champion Josh Waters methodically built speed throughout the day, also dipping into the 1m31s as the session progressed.

Defending champion Josh Waters steadily built speed and dropped into the 1m31s late in the day – Image RbMotoLens

Jonathan Nahlous reinforced that his form at Sydney Motorsport Park was no one-off. The YRT youngster was the leading Yamaha rider and the only other competitor to circulate in the 1m31 bracket.

Jonathan Nahlous was the leading Yamaha rider and the only other competitor in the 1m31 bracket – Image RbMotoLens

However, the top eight are pretty tight and covered by only a second, with Jack Favelle in fifth on 1m32.304, narrowly edging Cru Halliday and Jacob Roulstone. A scant four-hundredths of a second covered that fifth-through-seventh spread.

Cru Halliday is normally a master of Phillip Island but is yet to really hit his straps – Image RbMotoLens

Mike Jones was eighth quickest, four-tenths off his young team-mate, and a tenth clear of ninth-placed Cam Dunker, while Glenn Allerton rounded out the top ten ahead of John Lytras and rookie Marcus Hamod.

Australian Superbike competitors will be on track again on Saturday morning at 0805 for their sole 30-minute qualifying session before fronting up for their opening 11-lap contest of the weekend right on midday. The final two bouts are slated for 0945 on Sunday morning, followed by race three at 1340.

SW-Motech Superbike Combined FP1/FP2

Kawasaki Supersport

It was Hayden Nelson who emerged on top for BCperformance Kawasaki, the Australian edging Italian Roberto Tamburini by the narrowest of margins to secure pole position.

Hayden Nelson put the NG spec BC Performance Kawasaki ZX-6R on pole – Image RbMotoLens

Nelson’s 1m35.129 on the NG-specification ZX-6R was enough to deny Tamburini’s Supersport-spec Yamaha YZF-R6, but the benchmark was notably 1.3 seconds shy of the lap record set here last year by Archie McDonald.

The top two in ASBK Supersport Qualifying today at Phillip Island – Image RbMotoLens

The front row is separated by just 0.07-seconds, with Tom Edwards making it two Kawasakis at the sharp end.

Tom Edwards rounded out the front row – Image RbMotoLens

Olly Simpson heads row two on the NG spec DesmoSport Ducati V2 and looks likely to be well in the podium fight.

Olly Simpson also demonstrated podium pace – Image RbMotoLens

The closeness of the leading quartet underlines how finely poised this category remains despite the mixed NG and traditional Supersport machinery, but clearly, there is more speed to come.

Jake Farnsworth was almost half a second further behind in fifth – Image RbMotoLens

Jake Farnsworth was almost half a second further behind in fifth, ahead of Tom Toparis and youngsters Marianos Nikolis, Will Nassif and Sam Drane, while Josh Soderland rounded out the top ten ahead of Scott Nicholson and Valentino Knezovic. That latter trio is more than three seconds slower than Nelson’s pole time, highlighting a clear split between the leading contenders and the remainder of the field heading into the races.

Ryan Yanko got some frequent flyer miles – Image RbMotoLens

The opening Supersport race for the season opener is scheduled for 0925 on Saturday morning, which is then followed by race two at 1335 Saturday afternoon, while the third and final ten-lap contest of the weekend is slated for 1125 on Sunday.

Kawasaki Supersport Qualifying Results

Road & Race Supersport 300

The battle for top spot in the SS300 category was an interstate tussle between young Western Australian Orlando Peovitis (Kawasaki) and South Australian Tara Morrison (Kawasaki). In the end, it was the Sandgroper that edged out the Croweater while Jordy Simpson (Yamaha) made it three South Australians on the front row.

Road & Race Supersport 300 Qualifying Results

2026 ASBK Provisional Calendar