Josh Waters and Onyabike KW Civil McMartin Racing with K-Tech take sixth round win in a row

Josh Waters and the Onyabike KW Civil McMartin Racing with K-Tech Team returned to the happiest of hunting grounds and once again came away with the round win despite testing conditions during round six of the ASBK Championship held over the weekend of 7-8 September.

Phillip Island has always been a successful track for Josh and the Onyabike KW Civil McMartin Racing with K-Tech team, ever since Josh made his debut with the team scoring three wins at the MotoGP support races in 2022. 

Being a two day only event meant the Saturday program included five sessions for the Superbike teams, three practice sessions and two qualifying sessions. In almost prefect Phillip island Conditions the team got to work fine tuning the bike setup. 

Josh was able to finish the combined practice sessions in second position before going to secure his fiftieth front row start for Sunday’s two races in qualifying. 

Race one was held in very tricky conditions that were vastly different to Saturday’s practice and qualifying. The team worked hard to completely change the setup of the bike to adapt to the much cooler, wet and extremely windy conditions. Starting from the front row Josh got a brilliant launch off the line and was well placed as the field negotiated the first lap. Whilst fellow Ducati rider Broc Pearson had made a little gap at the front Josh was busy familiarising himself with the grip levels before moving forward to close onto the back of Pearson by the end of lap three. Josh was happy to just shadow the Queenslander as they both pulled a sizeable gap over the rest of the field, by half race distance the lead was over eleven seconds. Pearson made a bit of a push with two laps remaining as the leaders encountered some lapped traffic but Josh was able to pull off a tactical masterclass timing his run through the final corners to perfection to win a drag race to the line and take his ninth race win of the season by .094. 

Race two was held in much better but still not perfect conditions and although the lap times were a little slower than in qualifying for the spectators it was by far the most entertaining race of the year. 

With the track drying considerably from race one several riders were eager to push on early in the race and a group of six riders made a break over the rest of the field. Josh was in the thick of the action along with fellow Ducati riders Cru Halliday, having his first ride on the brand new McMartin Racing prepared Stop and Seal entry, race one protagonist Pearson, ex MotoGP rider Ant West and young guns Jack Favelle and JJ Nahlous. Once again, the experience of Waters shone through with the Onyabike KW Civil McMartin Racing with K-Tech rider happy to sit in the pack and launch his attack in the final laps. West had made a small break at the beginning of the last lap as Josh and the Onyabike KW Civil McMartin Racing with K-Tech Ducati VR surged past Cru Halliday and Broc Pearson on the final lap to secure a fine second place and once again take the overall round win, the sixth in a row.

This sixth consecutive round win of the year sees the Onyabike KW Civil McMartin Racing with K-Tech’s teams rider increase his championship lead to sixty-nine points. 

The Onyabike KW Civil McMartin Racing with K-Tech team now look forward to the next round at One Raceway over the weekend of 3-5 October. 

“I'm really happy to come out of Phillip Island with a one-two result in such trying conditions” commented round winner and championship leader, Josh Waters. “In race one the pace for the conditions was so fast, it was great to be able to get the win. Race two was so sketchy, the track was wet in a lot of areas, and we were on slick tires. The battle was great for the lead, but I had to be smart. A huge thank you must go to my team for all their hard work over a tricky weekend along with all our sponsors and everyone that supports us. Two more rounds to go and as always, we will keep trying our best”.

“What a hard day with the changeable weather conditions” said Team Owner Craig McMartin. “I am so proud of the entire team, they worked extremely hard today with so many changes to the bike settings and Josh rode so good in those conditions. We are really happy to leave round six with an extended championship lead, but we couldn't do it without the continued support of all our sponsors including Onyabikeadvantures, KW Civil, K-Tech, Ducati and Pirelli tyres”.