Elite Roads Drafts Simpson for Desmosport Ducati Superbike

A crash in Qualifying will see Ant West step aside for the two ASBK Superbike races here at The Bend, allowing for Olly Simpson to jump aboard the DesmoSport Ducati Elite Roads Panigale V4 R alongside his primary duties in Next Gen SuperSport. Hurting his right hand, Ant decided early today (Sunday) that it would be safer to rest his braking hand on an 18 corner circuit that demands so much from riders before jumping back aboard for round 4.

DesmoSport Ducati Team Owner, Ben Henry: "I'm a bit nervous actually. Olly has been doing a great job this weekend, but now he jumps up to the superbike, doubling his work load. It's risky, but it's a no pressure situation for him to go and have some fun against the best in the country. As long as he rides smart, I'm excited to see how he goes".

ER Motorsport Owner, Deon Coote: "It's disappointing to put in all the effort and miss race day, but I respect Ant's decision. He's an experienced rider and the last thing he wants to do is create any unsafe situation. The team has been working hard all weekend, so rather than pack up, we approached Olly and he's jumped at the opportunity".

DesmoSport Ducati Rider, Olly Simpson: "It's been a solid start leading every session on the V2. I feel comfortable and Ben & Shane, along with the entire team have been working to keep improving the bike, so I feel good about our position. Obviously I saw both superbikes crash in Qualifying, and both bike be rebuilt overnight, but I never expected Deon to offer me a ride! I know the track well, and I did jump on Westy's bike during our test, but only to have a ride and see what it was like, so I have ridden the V4 R here, but not with any real intention, so I'm looking forward to the opportunity to race the bike today!"

On-Track Schedule (Australian Central Time - SA local time)

Superbike

Friday

Free Practice 1 9:50am (25 mins) 

Free Practice 2 12:40 pm (25 mins) 

Free Practice 3 15:35 pm (25 mins) 

Saturday 

Free Practice 4 10:15 (30 mins) 

Qualifying 2:30pm (20 mins) 

Qualifying 2 3:00pm (15 mins) 

Sunday

Warm up 9:15 am (10 mins) 

Race 1 11:15 am (11 Laps) 

Race 2 2:45 pm (11 Laps)

Next Gen Supersport

Friday 

Free Practice 1 8:55am (20 mins) 

Free Practice 2 11:25 am (20 mins) 

Free Practice 3 2:40pm (20 mins) 

Saturday 

Qualifying 9:10am (25 mins) 

Qualifying 2 11:25am (25 mins) 

Sunday

Warm up 8:45 am (5 mins) 

Race 1 10:05 pm (9 Laps) 

Race 2 1:35 pm (9 Laps)

Watch all the action on Saturday: 

SBS Sport & Stan Sport from 7:30pm 

ASBK Live Stream from 3:25pm 

Watch the Live Timing: www.computime.com.au 

Image Credit: RBMotoLens

2026 Australian Superbike Championship

• Round 1: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC Feb 20-22
• Round 2: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW Mar 27-28
• Round 3: The Bend Raceway, SA May 1-3
• Round 4: Morgan Park Raceway, QLD May 29-31
• Round 5: Queensland Raceway, QLD Jun 26-28