Supersport 300 points leader on his rapid rise in ASBK.
As the nephew of three-time national superbike champion Glenn Allerton, it was inevitable that Josh Newman would find himself on the grid of the Mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK). In just his second full season of Supersport 300, he’s carving his own path as he leads the points standings ahead of Phillip Island this weekend.
It’s been a rapid rise for the 17-year-old, who only made the transition to the discipline three years ago, although motorcycles and racing have always been in his blood.
He first learned to ride at the youthful age of four before a short stint racing go karts, although growing up within the ASBK paddock, he was drawn back to two-wheel competition and started racing motocross at 10 years of age. It wasn’t until four years later that he experienced his first taste of riding on a road circuit, and it’s safe to say from that moment, he was hooked.
Image: Foremost Media.
“When I was around three or four, I got a CRF-50 and started riding from there,” Newman explained to CycleOnline. “I raced go karts for a bit when I was younger, but I always had the love and passion for racing motorbikes, so I raced motocross from around 10 to 14 [years of age] before riding a KTM RC390 at go kart track.
“My uncle is obviously Glenn Allerton – I’ve grown up around the ASBK paddock, so it was bound to happen that I was going to have a go on a road bike. I had a go and loved it.”
Newman swiftly adapted to road racing, and just six months after his first-ever club day, he made his ASBK debut at The Bend’s season-finale in 2022, where he went on to finish 15th overall with a P10 result in the final outing of the weekend.
Image: Foremost Media.
It was an encouraging result that inspired a full tilt at the series in 2023, and with Allerton in his corner to guide and mentor him, the New South Welshman continued to make improvements throughout the season to ultimately finish seventh in the championship standings.
Fast-forward to 2024 and on the eve of round five, Newman has landed on the podium at all four rounds so far – including a maiden overall victory at Queensland Raceway – to lead the championship standings by a single point.
While there’s still a long way to go in the Supersport 300 title race, the Kawasaki rider is as confident as ever at the final three circuits of the year, which will play to his advantage in his pursuit of a maiden Australian title.
Image: Foremost Media.
“I’m super-confident going into Phillip Island,” he added. “I had a really good result there at the start of the year where in the first two races, I was breaking away with Petr Svoboda and the rest of them before getting pipped out in the last race.
“The Bend last year was a really good showing for me, I led a lot of laps there, and I’m really excited for One Raceway – it’s quite close to home, there’s no testing heading into it and I think I can adapt quite quickly, so I’m quite confident for the rest of the year really. It’s super tight, but I’m pretty confident with the tracks for the rest of the year.”
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