SUPERSPORT 300 : SIZZLE FROM GO TO WHOA
Words and images : Russell Colvin
You like your photo finishes ? You ’ ve come to the right place !
It ’ s one of the most hotly contested categories in the Australian Superbike Championship where riders – the majority , teenage tearaways – go hammer and tongs and victories are usually measured in milliseconds .
This modern-day ‘ 250 Production ’ class – referencing the days of yore when 250cc two-stroke machines ruled the smallcapacity production ranks – is the proving ground for future stars in motorcycle racing across the globe .
Names like Mick Doohan , Troy Corser and Garry McCoy roll off the tongue as former 250cc Production riders who have gone onto bigger things in the sport – Doohan the grand master with his five consecutive 500 GP titles – while in more contemporary times riders like Oli Bayliss ( competing in this weekend ’ s WorldSSP round ), Luke Power and Tom Edwards have cut their teeth in Supersport 300 competition where daring and bravado are par for the course .
And even a quick scan of the entry lists for the Superbike ( Tom Toparis , Cameron Dunker ) and Supersport ( Marcus Hamod ) Australian classes this weekend reveals some more Supersport 300 graduates – the category is obviously doing something right !
We ’ ve probably already provided major hints , but what sort of action can we expect to see at this weekend ’ s opening round of the Supersport 300 Championship – and all season long for that matter ? Expect nothing less than nail-biting action , passing galore , and a gaggle of riders all fighting for victory . In race one at last year ’ s corresponding round , the top 10 were covered by 0.886 seconds after the eight-lap journey . You get the gist …
In terms of performance , while Supersport 300 machines – dominated by the Yamaha YZF-R3 and Kawasaki Ninja 400 – only punch out around 42hp and top speeds just north of 200km / h , the building blocks of a successful rider are maintaining corner speed and developing the art of slipstreaming , which you will see plenty of down Gardner Straight .
This weekend ’ s grid for the three eight-lap races includes a tantalising mix of incumbents and those progressing from the highly regarded Oceania Junior Cup academy – names like Harrison Watts , Tara Morrison , Mitchell Simpson , Ryan Larkin , Will Nassif , Alex Codey and Oscar Lewis – but the party could well be spoiled by Czech hard-charger Petr Svoboda who is set to make a one-off round appearance for his German-based team Kawasaki team . Svoboda finished sixth in the 2023 FIM Supersport 300 World Championship .
Prepare for 24 laps of intense Supersport 300 action – and the highly likely scenario of three photo finishes !
AUSTRALIAN SSP300