Can Josh Waters get the flow back on course at Hidden Valley?
2021 mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship  This weekends round of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul (ASBK), is the first time since 2018 that the premier national class has visited the challenging Hidden Valley Raceway, and all riders are ready to rumble in Darwin on the magnificent layout. This is also the first time in almost a decade that the Alpinestars Superbike class have shared the stage with Supercars as part of this weekends Merlin Darwin Triple Crown. Hidden Valley Raceway may be short in distance at 2.8 km, but it is extremely demanding requiring precision, commitment, aggression, and courage from riders for a good lap of the circuit. The 1km long main straight starts the challenge, topping nearly 300 km/h before the bravery of late braking takes over for the critical turn one. From there it is a charge over the undulating variations of the track to the daunting right-hand, turn five, before another hard braking spot at turn 6, then the charge over the last half of the track through one of the most confronting corners in Australia at turn 10. It is an intense corner to get correct, for the final part of the lap, but extremely easy to misjudge, and run out of bitumen. From there the next three corners are basically straight-lined into the final turn 14 where the drag race begins again. Video  Ride with Josh Waters at Hidden Valley from 2012  The ASBK Championship first visited the track in the late 90s and has visited sporadically over the years. ASBK returned in 2010 for four successive years before a mid-decade hiatus with a return of all the championship classes in 2017 and 2018. The 12 races over those six visits have produced six different winners, with four of them all in with a chance this weekend. The most successful rider at Hidden Valley is three-times Australian Superbike Champion, Josh Waters. Josh was scintillating in his performances when he won five of the six races from 2010-12, riding a Suzuki, although he didnt race here in 2013 as he was competing in the British Superbike Championship. On his return to Australia, he added two more to his tally when the championship returned in 2017, and he smashed his own lap record by over a second (1m05.986s), on his way to his third title that year. This year, he is racing for Kawasaki BC Performance on a brand new ZX-10RR that is in the early stages of development. Waters will no doubt take inspiration from his team-mates results here in 2018, as Bryan Staring aboard the BCPerformance machine finished second and third and has been on the podium a total of four times at Hidden Valley. Kelvin Reilly  BCPerformance Kawasaki  We only received the bike just before the season started, and because were some of the first people in the world to receive it, there have been challenges around data, information, product supply and testing. However, the overall package is certainly an improvement on what we had last year  the engine power characteristics are much better. Were just refining it to make it useable in a race environment. Josh and Bryan are working well together, theyve won four Australian titles between them, so there is no question about their ability. It has been a learning process  weve had to learn how to set up the bike to suit Josh, and hes had to adapt his riding style to suit the bike. Were aiming for the podium at Hidden Valley, but the likes of Wayne Maxwell and Troy Herfoss have lifted their game, theyre riding the best weve seen and their bikes are very good. It will be tough to beat them, but very satisfying when we do.  2018 was a watershed year for ASBK at Hidden Valley with moments of history created over that particular weekend. The major standout of that year was the appearance of three-times World Superbike Champion, Troy Bayliss on his DesmoSport Ducati Panigale, and he proved that there was plenty of hunger left in the man that turned 50-years-old that year. In qualifying for the event, Bayliss staked an early claim as he set the fastest ever lap for a motorcycle around the track (1m05.601a), then in the opening race, led every lap in an exceptional battle with two-times Australian Champion, Troy Herfoss (Penrite Racing Honda CBR1000RR) and 2010 champion, Bryan Staring, to break through for his maiden win and an historic victory in the Championship. Bayliss went oh-so-close to claiming the double win. He and Herfoss had another Herculean battle that went down to the final laps. Slicing and dicing for the lead, with less than four laps remaining, Bayliss hit a false-neutral in his bike as he barreled into the turn 6 hairpin and ran off track briefly. In his charge back, he overcooked it going into the extremely daunting turn 10 and dropped back to seventh. Herfoss won the race and broke the race lap record in the process (1m05.904s), from Staring with Wayne Maxwell  riding for Yamaha  in third. Those minor mistakes by Bayliss put a dent in his Championship hopes and graphically demonstrated the extremely thin line that overshadows every race at Hidden Valley and how precise, and inch-perfect, one must be. Bayliss finished third overall in the Championship behind 2018 Champion, Herfoss with Maxwell in second place, just three points ahead of the mercurial Bayliss. TB will be otherwise engaged this weekend looking after his son, Oli, in his rookie year in the ASBK Championship on the DesmoSport Ducatiand it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Oli could end up on the podium as he has finished fourth in his second race on the Ducati V4R. Most of the leading contenders in this years title chase have tasted the victory champagne in the tropics and it is anyones guess who will rise to the occasion in the three races at Hidden Valley this weekend. In the four races held this year in the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul, the wins have been equally shared between defending ASBK champion Wayne Maxwell on the Boost Mobile with K-tech Ducati Panigale V4R, and his fiercest rival and very good mate, Troy Herfoss on the Penrite Honda. It has been the Herfoss and Maxwell show this year with the pair sharing the wins at two-apiece with some close proximity but fair racing that will be remembered for years, but this track rewards horsepower and handling in equal measure so it opens up the challenge to the rivals that is led by Olis teammate, 2019 Champion Mike Jones, who sits third in the title chase. Maxwell and Herfoss have both won at the venue with Maxwell a further four podium places, and Herfoss has three podium finishes. The other current rider that has won at Hidden Valley is Glenn Allerton on the Maxima Racing Oils BMW. Allerton is another rider with three ASBK titles and after a wretched couple of seasons afflicted by injury, is back to his race pace and is sure to have the BMW on song with his rivals. There are a few others worth keeping a close watch on; Unitech Racings Arthur Sissis is a leading privateer. Due to his experienced and success in Speedway he is a gun starter and is often the leader at the first turn. Also, since his switch to Yamaha and a new team structure this year, his race consistency has improved dramatically. Allertons team-mate, Lachlan Epis, has improved at every outing and qualified fourth for the rounds at Winton and Wakefield Park. Once he finds the missing piece in the jigsaw of sustained race pace he will be knocking on the door of a podium, and that could well be this weekend. Leading the way this year for Yamaha will be 2018 Australian Supersport Champion, Yamaha Racing Teams Cru Halliday. Halliday won both Supersport races here in 2018 in dominant fashion and now that he is back on a 1000cc, factory-supported machine will no doubt be keeping his rivals honest. Besides a championship battle between riders and manufacturers there is also the bragging rights in the tyre war. The majority of the field run Pirelli rubber while Herfoss is the leading rider using the French Michelin tyres and the Kawasaki BCPerformance and YRT Teams run on Dunlops. The action promises to be as hot as the tropical sun that will shine on the drama that is sure to unfold. If you have never seen Superbike racing before you are about to witness something very special. Fans can catch every practice and qualifying session on Fox Sports Australia. The Saturday and Sunday ASBK race action will also feature as part of Channel 7s free-to-air coverage. That will be better quality than these pit bits I put together on the Sunday of the event at Hidden Valley a decade ago, but they will bring back some good, and bad, memories for many that might enjoy looking back at them now. Sunday Pit Bits from Darwin ASBK 2012  ASBK Hidden Valley Schedule  Friday, 18 June  10:25am  Practice 1 (40 min) FOX Sports  2:20pm  Practice 2 (30 min) FOX Sports  Saturday, 19 June  10:15am  Qualifying 1 (20 min) FOX Sports  10:40am  Qualifying 2 (15 min) FOX Sports  2:05pm  Race 1 (16 laps) FOX Sports/Channel 7  Sunday, 20 June  10:50am  Race 2 (16 laps) FOX Sports  2:05pm  Race 3 (16 laps) FOX Sports/Channel 7  2021 ASBK Championship Calendar (Updated)  Round 1 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC February 18-21 Cancelled  Round 2 Winton Motor Raceway, Benalla, VIC March 12-14  Round 3 Wakefield Park Raceway, Goulburn, NSW April 16-18  Round 4 Hidden Valley Raceway, NT  Supercars 2+4 (Superbikes only) June 18-20  Round 5 Morgan Park Raceway, QLD August 20-22  Round 6 The Bend Motorsport Park, Tailem Bend, SA September 23-26  Round 7 Wakefield Park Raceway, Goulburn, NSW October 15  17 *  Round 8 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC November 5-7 *  Alpinestars Superbike Championship Standings  Pos Rider Total 1 Wayne MAXWELL 91 2 Troy HERFOSS 81 3 Mike JONES 74 4 Cru HALLIDAY 65 5 Glenn ALLERTON 64 6 Bryan STARING 54 7 Jed METCHER 47 8 Arthur SISSIS 46 9 Oli BAYLISS 45 10 Matt WALTERS 42 11 Lachlan EPIS 36 12 Josh WATERS 27 13 Anthony WEST 24 14 Michael EDWARDS 22 15 Mark CHIODO 22 16 Yannis SHAW 21 17 Nathan SPITERI 20 18 Luke JHONSTON 17 19 Aiden WAGNER 15 20 Aaron MORRIS 14 21 Philip CZAJ 10 22 Hamish McMURRAY 4 23 Sash SAVIN 3  Darwin ASBK Entry List