RIDING BUMPS IN THE ROAD
RISING Mareeba road racing talent Liam Waters has his eyes set on the Supersport 300 starting grid as he aims to take the Australian Superbike series by storm.
Waters was forced to hit the brakes on plans to race internationally due to the coronavirus pandemic, but he took his outstanding talents to Brisbane and Tasmania to keep the big wins coming.
With uncertainty over international travel, the 16year-old has focused on achieving domestic success, which he hopes will start at Phillip Island next month.
He may not have an opportunity to ride the bike he’ll take into competition until he arrives in Victoria, but Waters is doing all he can to be ready to ride.
RISING Mareeba road racing talent Liam Waters has his eyes set on the Supersport 300 starting grid as he aims to take the Australian Superbike series (ASBK) by storm.
Waters was forced to hit the brakes on plans to race internationally due to the coronavirus pandemic, but he took his outstanding talents to Brisbane and Tasmania to keep the big wins coming.
He won the Queensland F3 Road Racing title in October, finished third in the Queensland 2 Hour Road Race endurance event in November, then won the Baskerville 2 Hour Endurance in Tasmania in December to finish a heavily disrupted year on a high.
With uncertainty over international travel, the 16year-old has focused on achieving domestic success, which he hopes will start at Phillip Island next month.
“Being the first year in the ASBK, it’s going to be very hard,” Waters said. “But I’ll give it my all. My goal is to finish in the top six. I feel I have good pace to be up the front, but it will take a lot of determination and hard work to do it.”
The Supersport 300 category is a feeder program for senior road race classes, and is designed for smaller capacity engines between 250cc and 400cc.
The challenge is a step up from what Waters is used to on a Moto 3, and there isn’t a huge amount of time left to ensure he’s ready to ride.
He may not have an opportunity to ride the bike he’ll take into competition until he arrives in Victoria, but Waters is doing all he can to be ready — including spending plenty of time in the gym.
“The Moto 3, you’re more tucked in, it’s slimmer, and it’s about two-thirds the weight of the (Yamaha) R3,” Waters said. “With the R3, there’s a lot more work involved.”
Waters’ journey into motorsport began in Spain when he and dad Damian watched a Moto GP race at Valencia.
“I saw the junior race beforehand and when I knew you could race that young, it’s what I wanted to do,” he said.
He was on two wheels soon after his return to Mareeba, riding at the local MakoTrac and in Townsville as he eased his way into his high-speed passion.
Success followed, as did more opportunity, as Waters travelled further afield to Brisbane and Tasmania.
He’s had considerable success at Baskerville in his young career, winning two straight races despite soggy conditions in his second visit to the Apple Isle.
“I managed to take the win in 2019, so I went back there pretty confident,” he said.
“It was a lot different (in 2020), when you’re racing on slick tyres and it’s raining, it makes it more difficult, but I was able to stay out of trouble and get the win.”
Before COVID, Waters was investigating three options to continue his career: Italy, Spain and Japan, with the latter his preferred destination due to a reputation for tough, high-quality racing.