Yamaha Racing Team racer, Mike Jones, has finished second in the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) but can walk away with his head held high, throwing everything at it in an enthralling weekend of action at the final round.
Jones entered the final round 26 points behind leader, Josh Waters, and both were in an arm wrestle to become the first person to win four ASBK championships in the Superbike division. He came out all guns blazing to post the fastest lap in qualifying and the one point to go with it to reduce the margin back to 25 points and with a three-race format in play for the weekend, the pressure was mounting on both riders.The near capacity field gridded up for race one and it was Waters who got the jump, and took control of the race. Locked in behind him was Jones and the rest of the thundering superbike class. Jones stalked Waters, through the turns and shadowed him under brakes, just looking for an opening and an opportunity to make his move.
The laps started winding down and the duo had moved away from the pack, and it was a battle of wills out front. With two laps to go, Jones made lunge and found a way past, only for Waters to cut back underneath and retake the lead. The final lap board came out and Jones was fast running out of options, but he made some ground up on Waters and then with two turns to go, drove his R1M under Waters, and snatched the race lead and went on to win by less then a bike length. The margin was back to twenty.
Race two and it was all on the line. The field again roared into turn one with Waters in the lead but Jones back in fourth. He made his way to third but then the red flag came out and the field was restacked for a restart.
This time Jones was in third, behind Waters and Troy Herfoss. Waters created a little gap as the battle raged on behind. Jones fought his way past Herfoss and was about to set his sights on Waters, when Herfoss retaliated and regained his position but pushed them both wide and allowed Waters to sneak away that bit more. But on the final lap, it was do I die for Jones, if he finished third, the championship was over, so he had to get to second to stay in the fight.
And he did. He made a desperate move to get as way ahead of the Ducati rider and take the championship down to the final race. Waters had twenty-five points on Jones, and the championship was in his control, but he needed to finish, and Jones needed to win. It was mathematically possible but unlikely.
The third and final race left the grid with Waters again grabbing the lead but Jones on him like a cheap suit. Waters was taking no chances and was riding well within himself, and Jones was just the opposite, desperate to get to the front and away from the pack. But on the opening lap, that enthusiasm bought his downfall as he hit the rear of Waters heading into turn thirteen and went down. Championship over. Jones already had amassed enough points to lock down send, but the crown was Waters.
“I knew coming into the weekend, it would take everything to fall my way to even get close to winning it, but I wasn’t going to die wondering and If I wasn’t going to win it, I was going to make Josh earn it,” Jones explains.
“The bike was good all weekend and I felt I had three race wins in me, but it wasn’t to be. The team and I gave it our all and we came up short.
“Josh rode great all year. He is a fast and experienced rider and made the least amount of mistakes over the seven rounds so he deserves the championship. I had a couple of bad races and that was costly when up against someone like Josh.
“Thanks to the Yamaha Racing Team for another year of amazing support and to the ASBK for a great platform for us to race. This is only going to fuel me over the summer and I plan to come back more motivated and stronger then ever in 2025,” Jones ends.
It was a memorable day for Yamaha supported riders in Arthur Sissis and Ant West who made the podium at the final round. Home state hero, Sissis secured a career high second place for the round on the back of his 3-5-3 results, just ahead of West in third who was as fast as anyone all weekend, bad poor starts proved costly. Westy finished with 4-4-5 finishes.
Cru Halliday was unable to contest the final round due to an injury sustained at the previous ASBK round at One Raceway. Halliday ended the championship in eighth place after missing the final five races of the season.
“It has been another eventful season for YRT and again been a huge effort by the riders, staff and sponsors. Despite some up and downs along the way, Mike was able to take it down to the final race of the year and put up a great fight,” says YRT owner, John Redding.
“Thank you to our team sponsors, many of whom have been with us for twenty years, as well as ASBK for another great year and we look forward to another successful season in 2025,” he ends.