Sydney Return for DesmoSport Ducati

The Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) returns to Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend to race under lights on Saturday night for the first time in the championship’s history. A track with incredible memories for the DesmoSport crew with Mike Jones securing the ASBK championship aboard the DesmoSport Ducati Panigale 1299 Final Edition at the circuit in 2019, the entire team is looking forward to Broc Pearson getting back on board the Panigale V4 R in a unique two-day format for round two of the championship.

Team co-owner, Ben Henry: "Phillip Island saw some uncharacteristic mistakes from our whole team and that led the way to Broc feeling uneasy on the bike. We were lucky enough to have some time with Pirelli at Phillip Island on the Monday following and it returned a lot of Broc's confidence. We've taken a step back, really tightened up our processes, while also looking to find ways to keep increasing how comfortable Broc feels on the bike. This season is about allowing Broc to learn and grow as a rider while still making steps forward, so he can reach his full potential on a superbike and I think we're set to see a good weekend unfold."

Team co-owner, Troy Bayliss: "I'm really looking forward to seeing these guys race under lights. We've done some club racing in the Summer Series here over the last two years, and we ran the Ducati Track Day powered by DesmoSport Ducati under lights here in Sydney too, so while Broc hasn't done a huge amount of laps at the track, we've been here, we've done pretty well here in the past and we have the ingredients to start working our way forward."

Broc Pearson: "We tested well here, and I was able to race a few of the St George night races over summer to try and learn the track since I haven't ever ridden a superbike around here before, and I'm feeling pretty good. I like the track, and it's exciting to ride and watch under lights so I think it's going to be a great weekend. Everyone in the team has put a lot of effort in after round one to make sure we finish the weekend where we should be, and I can't wait to get on track later today."

On-Track Schedule

Friday

Free Practice 1: 11:55am (30 min) 

Free Practice 2: 2:05pm (30 min) 

Free Practice 3: 4:40pm (30 min)

Qualifying 1: 8:15pm (25 min) 

Qualifying 2: 8:45pm (15 min)

Saturday

Warm Up: 2:20pm (10 min) 

Race 1: 4:20pm (13 laps) 

Race 2: 9:15pm (13 laps)

A change to the Qualifying format with all superbike riders to set a time in Qualifying 1, with the top 12 riders transferring to Qualifying 2 to set the grid positions. The tyres used in these sessions are apart of the overall tyre allocation for the weekend. Follow the on-track action across the weekend via LIVE Timing at www.Computime.com.au Watch all the race action on Saturday from 7pm on SBS, or on the ASBK Live Stream 3pm to 6pm and 8pm to 10:20pm

Image Credit: RBMotoLens

Make sure you follow the team's social media to stay up to date:

@DesmoSportDucati

2023 Australian Superbike Championship

•  Round 1: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC Feb 24-26 10-9-11: 10th Overall
• Round 2: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW Mar 24-25
• Round 3: Queensland Raceway, QLD Apr 28-30
• Round 4: Hidden Valley Raceway, NT Jun 16-18
•  Round 5: Morgan Park Raceway, QLD Jul 14-16
•  MotoGP: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC Oct 20-22 (non-championship)
•  Round 6: Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC Oct 27-29
•  Round 7: The Bend Motorsports Park, SA Dec 1-3