STRONG FINISH TO BRUISING WEEKEND FOR OMEGA RACING TEAM


Round Seven of the 2025 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) rolled into One Raceway, just outside Goulburn in country NSW, from October 3-5. It was a challenging round for the Omega Racing Team, marked by setbacks across all classes, but highlighted by the focus and unity of our riders and crew under pressure.


SUPERBIKE

For Superbike rookie #20 Jonathan “JJ” Nahlous and crew, the challenges began even before the weekend started. A mechanical drama during testing left an unworkably tight turnaround to repair the Yamaha YZF-R1. Fortunately, sponsor Motocity Wollongong stepped in with a lifeline of support, enabling the team to enter Round 7 on Honda CBR1000RR machinery.


That meant an all-new bike, suspension platform, and electronics package for everyone to get their heads around; but by the second practice session on Friday morning, Nahlous was right in the hunt sitting P4 in the times. Unfortunately, a crash late in the session left the primary bike damaged beyond short-term repair, and the crew worked late into the night to prepare the spare Honda, which featured different componentry.


With no setup data or meaningful practice time, Nahlous made it through Qualifying 1 and secured 12th on the grid in the high-pressure Q2 session, meaning plenty of overtakes would be needed come Sunday.


After some positive changes made ahead of Sunday's morning warm-up, Nahlous felt more confident heading into racing, but ultimately found the adjustments made prior to Race 1 didn't deliver, and after a 9th-place finish he regrouped with the team to make further refinements ahead of Race 2. The second race was red-flagged early, providing a restart, and a second chance that Nahlous took with both hands. Launching off the line, he came out of Sector 1 in P4 and held strong pace throughout the shortened race to finish 7th, a result he and the team were excited about after a challenging 3 days.


Nahlous maintains 7th place in the championship standings as we turn our attention to the upcoming season finale.

SUPERSPORT

The challenges continued in the Supersport category, where #65 Will Nassif showed strong pace despite a tough weekend that didn’t yield championship points.

Nassif qualified 9th on the YZF-R6, just 0.3 seconds behind 3rd place in an incredibly close field. However, a crash on Saturday forced a move to the spare bike for Sunday’s races.


Race 1 saw Nassif get off to a flying start, climbing to 6th and running well within the lead group before another rider crashed ahead, taking him out in the process. With the bike too damaged to compete in Race 2, his weekend ended early. Fortunately, his consistent form throughout the season allowed him to retain 9th in the championship standings, and he looks eagerly towards The Bend in November after some positive in-race moments.



SUPERSPORT 300

Omega Racing’s Supersport 300 duo, #63 Mitchell Cartwright and #84 Zac Russo, continued their steady development aboard the Yamaha YZF-R3 platform.


Both riders made significant forward progression across the weekend, each improving their lap times by a huge five seconds from Friday to Sunday. They also found themselves in the thick of close-quarters racing throughout the three-race program, gaining valuable experience in pack dynamics and overtaking in highly competitive conditions.


While the points were just out of reach this round amidst the massive 31-rider field, both Cartwright and Russo showed composure under pressure and clear improvement in their racecraft, all promising signs heading into the championship finale at The Bend.


A huge thank you to our Omega Racing Team's naming sponsor Omega Appliances for their continued support and presence this round, as well as ongoing season sponsors: Complete AV, RKChain, Motul, Knight Designs, Bikebiz, PirelliMoto, Motocity Wollongong and Yamaha Motor Australia.


Words: Russell Downie and Rebecca Bowdidge.

Images: Pit Lane Studio.