Josh Waters and the new 2017 Team SUZUKI ECSTAR GSX-R1000R dominated the weekend’s sixth and penultimate round of the Australian Superbike Championship at the weekend and moved to within six points of the title lead.

In the opening 16-lap race, Waters led the field from the opening turn, followed closely by Bryan Staring and Glenn Allerton. Staring was having an impressive run in the opening laps, but retired after smoke poured out of his exhaust and engine started losing power, signalling another retirement after a strong weekend.

Waters was checking-out in the front and was the only rider to consistently race in the 1:30’s, only dropping-back into the 1:31's on lap 11, which was a testament to the durability of his Pirelli tyres.

In race two, Waters – who started the weekend by setting Pole Positing - maintained first position around the opening corner as Staring positioned himself in second and the following laps would be a frantic affair: It didn’t take long for Wayne Maxwell, Glenn Allerton, Troy Herfoss and Daniel Falzon to engage in a scrap for the final place on the podium, but championship leader Maxwell crashed early on in the race at Shark Corner which blew the title fight wide open.

The Australian Superbike Championship now heads to Round 7 at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit for a thrilling concluding round on October 6-8th with the Championship likely down to a three-horse race between Waters, Herfoss and Maxwell.

Josh Waters:

“The second race was definitely a lot harder. Bryan just wouldn’t give up chasing me down for the win! Congratulations to Bryan and Troy on the podium. It’s been an awesome race and credit to Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Australia for all their hard work. Phillip Island is one of my favourite tracks, so I can’t wait for the last race of the season.”

Race One Results:

1 Josh WATERS (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR, GSX-R1000R)
2 Troy HERFOSS (Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team, CBR1000SP2)
3 Wayne MAXWELL (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1)
4 Josh HOOK (Bell Helmets, Ducati Panigale R)
5 Glenn ALLERTON (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1)
6 Daniel FALZON (JD Racing, YZF-R1)
7 Cru HALLIDAY (Yamaha Finance, YZF-R1)
8 Robert BUGDEN (Kawasaki BCperformance, ZX-10R)
9 Michael BLAIR (Yamaha YRT, YZF-R1)
10 Corey TURNER (Desmosport Ducati, 1299 Panigale)

Race Two Results:

1 Josh WATERS (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR, GSX-R1000R)
2 Bryan STARING (Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team, CBR1000SP2)
3 Troy HERFOSS (Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team, CBR1000SP2)
4 Glenn ALLERTON (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1)
5 Robert BUGDEN (Kawasaki BCperformance, ZX-10R)
6 Cru HALLIDAY (Yamaha Finance, YZF-R1)
7 Michael BLAIR (Yamaha YRT, YZF-R1)
8 Corey TURNER (Desmosport Ducati, 1299 Panigale)
9 Josh HOOK (Bell Helmets, Ducati Panigale R)
10 Alex PHILLIS (Apex Civil, Yamaha YZF-R1)

Championship Standings (after 6 Rounds):

1.Troy Herfoss (NSW) 226
2. Josh Waters – Suzuki GSX-R1000 - (VIC) 220
3. Wayne Maxwell (VIC) 211
4. Robert Bugden (QLD) 201
5. Daniel Falzon (SA) 188
6. Cru Halliday (NSW) 183
7. Bryan Staring (WA) 151
8. Corey Turner (QLD) 138
9. Mitch Levy (NSW) 119
10. Michael Blair (NSW) 114