Road racing sensation, Cameron Dunker, has won his maiden Superbike race and Superbike round at round three of the ASBK at The Bend over the weekend.
After dominating his way through the development categories, winning the 300cc classes, the 600cc class and moving to the premier Superbike division in 2024, Cameron Dunker has finally stood on the top step of the podium.The victory comes after a slow start to the weekend where the New South Welshmen left the circuit on Friday looking for more pace, but when things got serious in the qualifying sessions, the young gun got his head in the game and instantly found the missing speed and put his Blue Marlin Pools Yamaha R1M on the front row of the grid and confident more speed could be coming for Sunday.
And true to his thoughts, Dunker unleashed the beast in race one and despite an average start, he had to work his way past all the heavy hitters in the Superbike class, then on the final lap, he capitalised on a mistake by race leader, Harrison Voight, to grab the lead and fend off several attacks from Cru Halliday in the final few corners, to claim his maiden Superbike class race victory.
But his memorable weekend wasn’t over, and he was again in the heat of battle in the early stages of race two. With many of the usual contenders posting an odd result in race one, Dunker only needed to stay inside the top five to claim the round win, but he got shuffled back to sixth mid race and needed to lift. He found some mojo and moved his way back into third with a lap to run and in a position to take his first Superbike round win.
He then comes under attack from Jonathon Nahlous and squeezed by with just two turns to go, forcing Dunker back to fourth, but still enough to get the round victory.
“It’s been a weekend where we had a bit of everything and there were moments in that where it seemed even a race win was a real long shot,” Dunker explains. “Things were looking pretty rough on Friday, I then found some pace on Saturday, but we had a wet track for qualifying so it's hard to know how genuine the speed gain was, and then it was dry and windy on Sunday.
“But I have to thank the Blue Marlin Pools team who stuck at it all weekend. They kept working on the bike and it all came together for the two races, so I’m pumped to get the win for them,” Dunker ends.
For Yamaha Racing Team rising star, Jonathon Nahlous, it was another productive weekend where he again showed his potential and continued development with a 5-3 result to finish fifth on the weekend but prove his consistency is coming with his speed.
Nahlous only returned to Australia the week leading into The Bend round and took some time to get re-adjusted to his R1M. He also had a crash in qualifying causing plenty of work in the pit box to get him back on the track and able to qualify in fifth place.
The first race saw him drop a few positions on the opening lap. He then began to find a flow as the race went on and able to fight his way back to fifth place in a solid performance from the teenager.
But race two provided his highlight for the weekend after he moved his way through the pack, maintaining a good pace throughout the closing stages. In the waning moments of the race, he was able to make several passes and with two turns to go, ran up the inside of Dunker to grab third place before holding on in a drag to the finish line.
“It wasn't pretty all weekend, and I caused the team to work hard, so thanks to them for their efforts. I also had a crash in qualifying, and they were able to get me back out there and at least put myself in a reasonable place on the grid.
“My pace at the end of race one was good and I knew if I could stay a little closer to the leaders in the first half of the race a podium was on offer. And that’s how it panned out. My lap times stayed good, and I kept pushing all the way to the end and it was good to get a podium and leave The Bend content that I gave it everything I had.”
For teammate Mike Jones, it was a tough weekend. He qualified in fourth place, a good result considering he isn’t a fan of the wet conditions, but unfortunately the races didn’t go his way. A respectable sixth in race one followed by a P12 in race two where he was having some issues that left him frustrated and disappointed.
“I had done some riding and testing between the rounds and felt good but that didn’t show this weekend. The team and I kept working hard but just couldn’t find the answers to get the result we were after.
“But we will keep working on it and with the final two rounds in Queensland, I’m confident we can turn out season around and finish on a positive note.
The fourth round of the 2026 Australian Superbike Championship is on a Morgan Park, in Queensland on May 29-31.
ASBK Results
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ASBK Results
Round 3 – Morgan Park
Superbike
1st Cameron Dunker – 42 (Yamaha R1M)
2nd Josh Waters – 40
3rd Harrison Voight – 37
4th Cru Halliday – 35
5th Jonathan Nahlous – 34 (Yamaha R1M)
6th Glenn Allerton – 32
7th Jacob Roulstone – 29
8th Ollie Simpson - 24
9th Jack Favelle – 24 (Yamaha R1m)
10th Mike Jones – 24 (Yamaha R1M)
Superbike Championship Standings
1st Harrison Voight – 147
2nd Josh Waters – 136
3rd Jacob Roulstone – 124
4th Cameron Dunker – 113
5th Cru Halliday – 108
6th Glenn Allerton – 106
7th Jonathon Nahlous – 99
8th Mike Jones – 91
9th Jack Favelle – 84
10th Marcus Hamod - 74