Dunker pounces late for first ASBK Superbike win

Round Three – The Bend

SW-Motech Superbike Race One

Josh Waters had done just about everything short of winning a race at The Bend so far this weekend.

The defending ASBK Champion topped all three dry practice sessions on Friday, then handled the worst of Saturday’s wind and rain to lead Q1 before edging McMartin Racing team-mate Harrison Voight for pole in Q2. It had been a champion’s response from Waters after a season-opening Phillip Island round where the young guns threatened to tear up the accepted Superbike order, and a Sydney Motorsport Park weekend where the veterans started to drag things back their way.

At Phillip Island, Voight, Jacob Roulstone and Cam Dunker helped make the opening race feel like a generational shift, with Voight winning and the youngsters turning the fight behind him into a proper elbows-out scrap. Race two reinforced that theme, with the question of a changing of the guard hanging over the paddock after what was described at the time as perhaps the youngest Superbike podium in Australian Superbike history.

By Sydney Motorsport Park, though, Waters had fired back. He won the opening Superbike race under lights, holding off Cru Halliday and Jonathan Nahlous, before Voight answered in the second bout to take the championship lead into The Bend. Waters still won the SMSP round, but Voight left with 110 points, 14 clear of Waters, while Roulstone was only one further point behind the defending champion on 95.

That made Sunday morning at The Bend more than just the opening Superbike race of round three. It was the next marker in a season that has already swung from youthful disruption to veteran resistance and back again. Waters started from pole, Voight alongside him, and Dunker completed a front row that neatly summed up the 2026 ASBK story so far: champion, championship leader, and another young charger still looking for the big Sunday payoff.

Cam Dunker lined up on the front row before claiming his first ASBK Superbike victory

Behind them, Mike Jones and Jonathan Nahlous shared the second row, with Glenn Allerton, Cru Halliday, Ty Lynch and John Lytras on row three. Jacob Roulstone, so consistent through the opening two rounds, had work to do from 14th after missing the Q2 cut following a crash in the wet Q1 session.

Cru Halliday returned to the podium with a strong second place in Race One

There was also a late DesmoSport Ducati subplot. Anthony West injured his hand in his qualifying crash and did not take his place on the grid, with DesmoSport calling up Olly Simpson to ride the V4 R Superbike. Simpson had already endured a bruising Sunday morning after crashing out at turn two in the Supersport / Next Gen opener, but was unhurt and was now facing the unexpected chance to pull double duty from the back of the Superbike grid.

DesmoSport Ducati Team Owner Ben Henry admitted there was an element of risk in the call, but said the situation was pressure-free for Simpson. “I’m a bit nervous, actually. Olly has been doing a great job this weekend, but now he jumps up to the superbike, doubling his workload. It’s risky, but it’s a no-pressure situation for him to go and have some fun against the best in the country. As long as he rides smart, I’m excited to see how he goes.”

Olly Simpson was called up for a surprise Superbike debut after Anthony West was ruled out

Simpson said the Superbike opportunity was not something he had expected, despite having sampled West’s V4 R at a previous test.  “I did jump on Westy’s bike during our test, but only to have a ride and see what it was like, so I have ridden the V4 R here, but not with any real intention, so I’m looking forward to the opportunity to race the bike today!”

Simpson managed three laps in morning warm-up and showed impressive pace, running just over a second away from the session benchmark despite the last-minute switch to Superbike machinery.

Josh Waters had dominated the weekend to that point, but tyre life became a problem in Race One

So Waters had pole and momentum, Voight had the championship lead, Dunker had a front-row chance, Roulstone had a recovery mission, and Simpson had gone from Supersport heartbreak to surprise Superbike starter in the space of a morning.

Harrison Voight started alongside Waters and led much of the opening Superbike bout

The Bend had already thrown changing weather, crashes and late call-ups at the field. Now it was down to 11 laps to sort out what mattered, with a very stiff wind blowing across the 4.95-kilometre Bend Motorsport Park International Circuit as 20 riders formed up for the opening SW-Motech Superbike bout.

Despite the short race distance, tyre life was front of mind. The front-running Ducati riders were on the softer SCX rear, while Dunker had opted for the slightly harder SC0 on the Blue Marlin Pools Yamaha.

Harrison Voight leads the field away at the start of SW-Motech Superbike Race One at The Bend

Waters launched strongly from pole and led the field towards turn one, but Voight sneaked up the inside to take the lead as they tipped in. The McMartin Ducati pair emerged ahead of Halliday, while Dunker had to settle in after a slightly tardy launch. Allerton, meanwhile, quickly put himself into the lead-group conversation.

The SW-Motech Superbike field streams through the opening lap at The Bend

Voight and Waters wasted no time in trying to build a buffer. They crossed the stripe to start lap two six-tenths clear of Halliday, with Dunker already pushing forward and Allerton keeping himself within striking range. The YRT pairing of Mike Jones and Jonathan Nahlous were next, while Simpson was circulating inside the top ten on debut.

Voight led Waters and Halliday in the early stages before the race changed complexion

Dunker was immediately fast once he had clear track. His first flying lap was a 1m51.072, which would stand as the fastest lap of the race, and that lap helped drag him towards the McMartin pair. By the start of lap four, less than half a second covered Voight, Waters, Halliday and Dunker.

Harrison Voight looked on course for victory before running wide on the final lap

Voight continued to lead, but the race was already beginning to change behind him. Halliday shaped for a move on Waters, ran a little wide, and gave Dunker a look at the final podium place. Halliday recovered quickly, but the time loss helped bring Allerton closer again, turning the lead quartet into a five-rider contest.

The McMartin Ducati pair came under pressure from Halliday and Dunker as tyre life became critical

The first clear sign that Waters was in trouble came as they started lap six. Halliday went through on the defending champion at turn one, Dunker added another blow at turn two, and Allerton then demoted Waters to fifth before the lap was out. Waters had been one of the fastest riders in the early laps, but his pace fell away dramatically from halfway distance.

Voight, Waters and Halliday ran nose-to-tail in the early laps before Waters faded

Halliday was also surprised to see Waters fade.

“I didn’t think Josh was going to drop off like he did,” Halliday said. “I think me and him had a similar set-up. I think I just got after it a little bit more, but he’s a lot smoother rider, so it was a bit strange that Josh dropped off. Then I saw Harry make a mistake and thought, man, they’re two of the big guns that just dropped out, so I thought, all right, we’ve got a chance here.”

Voight then began to show signs of tyre stress himself. As the race passed two-thirds distance, Halliday and Dunker closed right onto his tail. The outright pace was still strong, with the leaders running in the 1m52s, but the shape of the contest had changed. Voight was defending, Halliday had the Ducati punch, and Dunker had a Yamaha that looked better every time the track turned technical.

Voight, Dunker and Halliday fought for the lead before late drama handed Dunker his chance

Dunker slipped past Halliday for second on lap eight and immediately began showing Voight a wheel. The Ducati stretched away down the straights, but Dunker clawed the margin back through the more technical sections, the Yamaha looking particularly sharp around the back of the circuit.

Halliday could see where Dunker had the advantage.

“Cameron had a lot more grip around the backside of the circuit,” Halliday said. “I didn’t get a really good drive out of turn 12 on that last lap. Cameron made a mistake and I wasn’t close enough, but hats off to Cameron, he rode unreal. Even Glenn was nipping at your heels the whole way. I think it was just the weather. We came down to test a couple of weeks ago and it was a whole different set-up. We were running different tyre compounds then, and I think this morning everyone was in a panic. It’s good to get back up on the box and I look forward to the next one.”

A small mistake from Dunker gave Halliday a chance to retake second, but the youngster was not done. He went back through and crossed the line in second to start the penultimate lap, only for Halliday to blast back by down the front straight.

That exchange gave Voight a little breathing space, but not enough. Dunker again picked off Halliday once the track turned twisty, and this time he carried enough momentum to arrive on Voight’s rear wheel as they completed the penultimate lap.

Then came the decisive moment. Voight ran wide at turn one on the final lap and rejoined in fourth, handing Dunker the lead ahead of Halliday and Allerton.

From there, Dunker had four kilometres to hold his nerve. He ran a little wide at one point but gathered it up without giving Halliday the opening he needed. The Ducati had the legs in a straight line, but Dunker was smooth out of the final turn and had done enough.

Cam Dunker arrives in parc fermé after claiming his first ASBK Superbike race win

Dunker took the chequered flag to claim his first ASBK Superbike race win, 0.427 seconds clear of Halliday, with Allerton only another 0.190 seconds behind in third.

“It’s unreal to get this one off my back,” Dunker said. “I had the opportunity at Phillip Island and made a mistake on the last lap, so I’m thankful I was able to bring that one to the line. Like Cru said, I had a little moment on the last lap myself, but I think everyone was struggling for grip out there. Hats off to my team. They gave me an awesome bike from FP1. We were sort of behind the eight ball, and every problem I had, they came up with a solution to get us here. I can’t thank them enough.”

Cam Dunker in parc fermé after winning ASBK Superbike Race One at The Bend

For Allerton, third place was another sign that the Superbike Advocates Racing Ducati package is now firmly in the podium fight, even if he felt his start again left him with work to do.

“The start wasn’t great because someone on a Yamaha always seems to like to stick it up inside of me every race now,” Allerton said. “If I could avoid that and stay with them, I wouldn’t have so much work to do. But it was a tight battle there at the end, and Cameron had heaps more grip than the rest of us. Obviously, the Ducati’s quick, but I’m super happy with my team. That was a good one. We were in the battle all the way. We had a couple of close calls, went shoulder-to-shoulder with Josh when he was a bit out of control, but overall, pretty happy.”

Race One podium: Cru Halliday, Cam Dunker and Glenn Allerton after a tense opening Superbike bout at The Bend

Voight was left to rue what might have been, but still salvaged valuable championship points in fourth. Nahlous and Jones completed the top six for Yamaha Racing Team, while Waters faded to seventh, 11.160 seconds from the win after leading the early charge from pole.

Olly Simpson completed a composed Superbike debut, finishing tenth after starting from the back

Roulstone could not turn his lowly grid position into a serious recovery ride and finished eighth, 15.189 seconds behind Dunker, but still banked points on a day when championship damage limitation mattered. Jack Favelle finished ninth, while Simpson completed a composed Superbike debut in tenth, just ahead of John Lytras.

Smoke pours from Favelle’s Addicted To Track Yamaha early on.

Dunker’s win adds another twist to a 2026 ASBK season already rich in generational storylines. The teenagers and early-20s brigade had made plenty of noise at Phillip Island, the veterans had hit back at Sydney Motorsport Park, and now Dunker has converted promise into a full-strength Superbike victory.

Cam Dunker celebrates with family and supporters after claiming his first ASBK Superbike victory at The Bend

The championship picture remains firmly in Voight’s favour, despite the final-lap mistake. His fourth-place finish lifted him to 127 points, extending his lead over Waters to 16 points after the defending champion’s seventh-place finish. Roulstone remains third on 108, only three behind Waters, while Dunker’s victory moved him to 96 points and into fourth. Halliday is now fifth on 93, with Allerton sixth on 89.

Ducati continues to lead the manufacturers’ standings on 561 points, but Yamaha has closed to 547 after Dunker’s win and top-six finishes for Nahlous and Jones. McMartin Racing still leads the teams’ championship on 235, ahead of Motocity on 174 and Yamaha Racing Team on 163.

Cam Dunker celebrates his first ASBK Superbike victory after winning Race One at The Bend

Cam Dunker is now a Superbike race winner. And ASBK 2026 has another major player in the fight.

Images by RbMotoLens

Superbike Race One Results

Superbike Championship Points

2026 ASBK Calendar

2026 ASBK PROVISIONAL CALENDAR
Round One	February 20-22	Phillip Island, VIC (WorldSBK)
Round Two	March 27-28	Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW
Round Three	May 1-3	The Bend, SA
Round Four	May 29-31	Morgan Park, QLD
Round Five	June 26-28	Queensland Raceway, QLD