The Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) calendar has officially been announced by Motorcycling Australia this afternoon, and just like year, the championship will again be another seven round championship which heads to five different states across Australia.
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The ASBK series will explode into life alongside the opening round of the Yamaha Finance round of the 2018 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship on 23-25 February. Unlike the other six rounds, the Australian Superbike and Supersport Championship will have three races each at curtain raiser round – race one on Saturday and race two and three on Sunday.
From the ‘Island’, the ASBK circus will travel 827km north to Goulburn’s Wakefield Park for the second stop on the tour. The dates you need to pop in your diary for round two is 16 – 18 March.
Goulburn Supersport rider Tom Toparis told the Goulburn Post that he’s excited once again to be able to race in front of his ‘home crowd’.
“It’s great to be able to have the ASBK series head back to Wakefield Park. The track is a tight and twisty sort of circuit which lends its self to some close racing, not only in the Supersport class, but across all the other classes as it was proven this year.”
The 17-year-old took out his first Australian Supersport round win at the 2.2km circuit by scoring pole position on the Saturday, then rode to a 1-4 result. The young gun will be looking to do it again on the third weekend of March.
“Nothing would be better than being able to win again at Wakefield Park. It was a fantastic feeling this year and I hope we can do it replicate it, hopefully taking two race wins this time,” added Toparis.
The exciting news for next year is the fact the championship will be heading to The Bend Motorsport Park, an all-new circuit near the town of Tailem Bend in South Australia, 100 kilometres south-east of Adelaide.
‘The Bend’ as its known will host round three of championship on April 19 – 22. In an official press release by Motorcycling Australia, it reads; ASBK is very excited to be heading to this brand-new, state-of-the-art, world-class motorsport facility, delivering an exhilarating experience for competitors, enthusiasts and spectators alike.
From The Bend, the series makes the long haul trip north to Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway, which proved to be a solid round for both Toparis and former Goulburn resident, Troy Herfoss who both scored second place overall finishes for the round.
Hidden Valley Raceway, which was a massive success this year will be held from June 28 - 1 July.
Just like this year, Morgan Park Raceway will again host round five of the championship on the third weekend of August.
A slight change in next year’s calendar sees the penultimate heading to Victoria’s Winton Motor Raceway, which was round three this year. The 3.0km rural circuit will host round six on the first weekend of September.
The grand finale of the Australian Superbike Championship will once again conclude at the iconic Phillip Island Grand Circuit on 12- 14 October.
Now all that remands is, who will be the king of the Australian Superbike Championship in 2018?
If this year was anything to go by, when the championship went all the way down to the wire between Herfoss, Wayne Maxwell and the champion for 2017, Josh Waters, then we are in for one hell of a season next year!
2018 Australian Superbike Championship calendar:
- Round 1: 23-25 February – Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC (WorldSBK)
- Round 2: 16-18 March – Wakefield Park, NSW
- Round 3: 19-22 April – The Bend Motorsport Park, SA
- Round 4: June 28-July 1 – Hidden Valley Raceway, NT
- Round 5: 17-19 August – Morgan Park, QLD
- Round 6: 7-9 September –Winton Motor Raceway, VIC
- Round 7: 12-14 October – Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC