Josh Waters on the podium at Phillip Island
The weekend of 27 – 29 November 2009 was one to be remembered in the Australian motorcycle road racing universe. Twenty-two year-old Josh Waters – a rookie in the Superbike class – won the finale in very definitive fashion and now owns the #1 plate for 2010. The final race of the Woodstock Bourbon Australian Superbike Championship was held at the incredible Phillip Island Circuit in Victoria, and the fans witnessed a great show.
Going into the event, Glenn Allerton had the points lead for the crown, but only two points in front of Waters. Allerton’s teammate at Team Oleon Oils Motologic Honda, Wayne Maxwell, was seven points further back in third position. However, it should be noted that there were two races in this finale. So, when Waters lined up to race, it truly was a winner-takes-all event.
Waters has admitted that he was very nervous when getting ready to race, but his Joe Rocket Suzuki squad gave him every chance of winning with an awesome setup on his GSX-R1000. Motologic’s Maxwell had qualified on pole for both races, and it seemed like it would be a very hard fight for the win. Fortune can be fickle, unfortunately, and Maxwell lost control of his CBR when he hit a nasty patch of water on the track in lap one of the first race. It was a horrific crash to witness and it fractured his right foot and left leg – he was out for the weekend. The race was red-flagged and a re-start was necessary.
Team Joe Rocket SuzukiAt the re-start, it was Waters who leaped to the front of the pack and left the other riders behind him for the entire race. In race two, it was almost the same minus the crash, of course. The Suzuki rider took both victories and the points that go with those wins. Allerton finished in second place in race 1, closely followed by Waters’ teammate, Shawn Giles, who took third. In race 2, that pair switched places. This left Waters with 301 points, Allerton with 291 and Maxwell in third with 245. 
This is the first Australian championship for Suzuki in 11 years, making the entire Joe Rocket crew a very happy group. And, this is a rare moment in any motorcycle racing series, though this year not so much; not only did a rookie take the 2009 Australian championship, but also the 2009 world championship (Ben Spies won the World Superbike Championship in his first year) - not normal at all. Team Joe Rocket Suzuki had a good year, to be sure, but I think that the young Josh Waters also had a weekend which he will remember forever. Next year – the 2010 season – will be worth paying very close attention to; with this level of talent, there will be some very good racing all around the planet Earth. Hopefully, little Phillip Island will have recovered from the tsunami that is Josh Waters.
