YOUTH GENERATION: EMERGING STARS PUT ON A SHOW IN SUPERSPORT 300
YOUTH GENERATION: EMERGING STARS PUT ON A SHOW IN SUPERSPORT 300
SIZZLING ACTION FROM START TO FINISH, WITH VICTORIES USUALLY MEASURED IN MILLISECONDS
It’ s impossible to dissect everything that goes down in a Supersport 300 race, as there’ s simply too much happening in a class where riders – the majority, teenage tearaways – go hammer and tongs from start to finish.
With more weaving and ducking than the eye can see, it’ s wonderfully entertaining and why it’ s the most fiercely contested class in the Australian Superbike Championship( ASBK) with Yamaha( YZF-R3) and Kawasaki( Ninja 400) dominating the entry list.
With such a hyper, fast-twitch tempo, race victories are well-earned and indecisiveness can be the difference between finishing on the podium or well down the pack.
In 2025, six Supersport 300 races were held at Phillip Island in the ASBK Championship, and the combined winning margin was a mind-boggling 0.878 seconds!
That’ s extraordinary, and underscores why Supersport 300 is the ultimate proving ground for emerging stars of circuit racing with its emphasis on corner speed, late braking and slipstreaming – the latter a regular occurrence at Phillip Island.
Some of the biggest names in Australia have learnt their craft in Supersport 300 – as well as the forerunning 250 Production class which was all the rage in the 1980s and 1990s – including Mick Doohan, Garry McCoy and, in more recent times, Moto2 star Senna Agius.
Moreover, former Supersport 300 champions circulating in the Supersport and Superbike classes at Phillip Island this weekend include Cameron Dunker, Scott Nicholson, Josh Newman and Marcus Hamod.
One rider who mastered all the Supersport 300 variables at Phillip Island in 2025 was popular South Aussie Tara
Morrison, who won two races – the first during the WorldSBK weekend when she became the first woman to win an ASBK race outright.
Morrison( Kawasaki) went onto finish sixth in the championship, undoubtedly saving her best work for Phillip Island which is why she will start as one of the favourites at the 2026 opener this weekend.
The opposition for Morrison will come thick and fast, with twists and turns expected in all three eight-lap races as the relative strengths and weaknesses of the bikes and riders are balanced out around the grand prix circuit.
Jordy Simpson( Yamaha) is another heavy hitter, finishing second in the 2025 championship and out to reach the summit in 2026, while other riders set to battle for major honours include Riley Nauta( Kawasaki), Tom Nicholson( Kawasaki), Phoenix O’ Brien( Yamaha), Tyler King( Kawasaki), Ghage Plowman( Yamaha), Ethan Dellow( Yamaha), Seth Dellow( Yamaha), Matthew Ritter( Yamaha), Rossi McAdam( Yamaha) and Krue Knight( Yamaha).
The gifted Nauta finished the 2025 Supersport 300 season in withering form – and then defeated MotoGP star Jack Miller in a dirt track shootout in Brisbane! – while likes of McAdam and Plowman were front-runners in the 2025 BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup. The entry-level circuit racing academy for riders aged 11-16 is proving to be an excellent feeder class for Supersport 300.
In terms of performance, Supersport 300 machines only punch out around 42hp and top speeds just north of 200km / h, but they are certainly the masters at producing photo finishes. Watch out for more of the same this weekend!
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