SUPERSPORT 300 : ACTION FROM START TO FINISH
300 RIDERS
SUPERSPORT 300 : ACTION FROM START TO FINISH
Tight , hard to predict and boundless possibilities , but that ’ s why we love it !
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 small-capacity 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 Senna Agius , Oli Bayliss , Luke Power and Tom Edwards have cut their teeth in the Supersport 300 competition and subsequently have gone onto greater things . Previous champions of the Race and Road Supersport 300 class lining up on the Phillip Island grid this weekend in SW-Motech Superbikes and Australian Supersport are Cameron Dunker and Josh Newman respectively .
This weekend , spectators can expect passing galore and a flurry of riders weaving across the track as they battle for victory . That ’ s exactly what happened last year , and in the final race , where the top nine were covered by 1.289secs ! On that occasion , Harrison Watts beat Tara Morrison and European rider Petr Svoboda to the chequered flag .
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 of200km / h , the building blocks of a successful rider are maintaining corner speed and developing the art of slipstreaming , something which will be a regular occurrence down Gardner Straight .
A total of 31 riders will line up on the grid for the opening round of the 2025 season at Phillip Island with a good mixture of returning faces , headlined by Valentino Knezovic and Jordan Simpson ( both Yamaha ), as well as some new ones too . Knezovic finished second to Newman in the title last year and arguably goes into the new season as the favourite given how quickly he adapted to the machinery upon his graduation to the class , considering it was his first year competing in the Australian Supersport 300 Championship . He was also the R3 Cup champion last year .
The Race and Road Supersport 300 class has often been the next step in the career progression of riders who had competed in bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup and this season is no different with the likes of Elijah Andrew , Zane Beckinsale , Zachary Russo , Rossi McAdam and Nikolas Lazos joining the grid . Andrew has already had a taste of the class courtesy of a few cameos towards the back half of last season while Lazos will link with the powerhouse Stop & Seal Racing squad .
Ryan Larkin also returns to the Race and Road Supersport 300 grid this weekend , the 18-year old enjoying a breakout year on the international front in 2024 as he finished second in the Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Asia-Pacific Championship .
Prepare for three races of intense action in the class this weekend , where the likely scenario will double as three lots of photo finishes !
AUSTRALIAN SSP300 RIDERS 39