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Top-five finishes for BCperformance Kawasaki at Morgan Park ASBK (Rd 4)

A pair of top-five finishes in the Kawasaki Supersport class for BCperformance Kawasaki’s Olly Simpson and Hayden Nelson capped off a consistent round of racing on Sunday, as the 2025 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) visited Queensland’s Morgan Park Raceway for the fourth round of the season.

A technical circuit with little time to rest thanks to its 12-corner layout, the Morgan Park Raceway configuration presented a fresh challenge for the Team Green crew as they worked to dial in their Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6Rs for both Simpson and Nelson throughout the weekend.

Free practice on Friday saw Simpson slot into P2 on the timesheets with a 1m16.335s, with Nelson fourth after recording a 1m17.235s lap-time. Qualifying saw Nelson post a 1m15.657s for sixth on the grid, while Simpson powered to P7 with a 1m15.657s after only having two laps on track to set a time.

Upon charging through the field in race one, Simpson would gradually move his way into P4, despite experiencing a share of discomfort as the race progressed. A five-lap dash to see out race two following a red flag saw the 27-year-old finish the race in fifth and collect fourth overall for the weekend.

Olly Simpson:"It was a tough weekend for us! Just couldn’t really get going from the practice sessions onwards, we were just struggling a bit. I only got two laps in qualifying yesterday, which put us on the back foot. Racing-wise, it was hard to hold onto the pace, and we’ve got a bit to work on, as this track didn’t agree with us. We know what we need to do, and we’ll come back stronger for the next one.”

Nelson, meanwhile, was competitive throughout the weekend on his BCperformance Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, despite each start featuring their unique beginnings that sent the 18-year-old down the order. A charge back to sixth in race one, followed by a fourth place in race two, positioned him in fifth for the round.

Hayden Nelson:"We were on the second row of the grid for qualifying, and were a little bit on the back foot after not having a test here, but I think we made good progress on Friday and everyone worked well together to get the Kawasaki setup. Difficult start to race one, I had to come from pretty far back to sixth, and felt I had the pace for fourth, but a red flag drew an end to that one. Second race, I was last off the start after being pushed into the dirt, and managed to come back to P4 after the restart, which was a good comeback.”

In terms of the championship, Simpson sits in third position, with Nelson climbing to fourth following four rounds of ASBK competition for 2025. The Kawasaki Supersport category will next travel to Phillip Island, Victoria, on September 6-7.

Kelvin Reilly, BCpeformance Kawasaki Team Manager: "Mixed emotions from today’s result. It’s okay and it’s not a disaster, but at the same time, it isn't where we want to be – we should be fighting for wins every weekend. We didn’t hit the ground running here at this round, but we’ll take a look at it collectively and work hard to get the best out of the next round. Both our boys rode really well today, so there are certainly positives to take.”

Kawasaki riders were also strong in the ASBK Supersport 300 category in Queensland, where Scott Nicholson rode his Ninja 400 to victory, followed by Tyler King in P3 and Riley Nauta in fourth.

2025 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) – Morgan Park Raceway, QLD

Kawasaki Supersport Round Four Results:

1. Archie McDonald

2. Jack Mahaffy

3. Tom Edwards

4. Olly Simpson, 4-5 (Kawasaki BCperformance Ninja ZX-6R)

5. Hayden Nelson, 6-4 (Kawasaki BCperformance Ninja ZX-6R)

Kawasaki Supersport Championship Standings:

1. Jack Mahaffy, 186 points

2. Archie McDonald, 160

3. Olly Simpson, 154

4. Hayden Nelson, 130