One Title, Two Near-Misses: The Shark Leathers 2026 ASBK Season

Six riders wore Shark Leathers colours across the 2026 ASBK grid in 2026, from a 14 year old on the R3 Cup grid to a former national champion in the premier Superbike class. The Penrite Australian Superbike Championship ran from the Phillip Island opener in February to the Queensland Raceway finale in late June. By the end of it, one of our riders was a national champion, another led his championship with a round still to run, and two more had lost titles in the cruellest way a racer can. Here is each of their years.

Oscar Lewis: R3 Cup Champion at 16

Oscar Lewis delivered a championship winning campaign in the 2026 BLU CRU R3 Cup, combining race winning speed with remarkable consistency to claim the title by seven points over reigning 2025 champion Jordy Simpson, finishing on 168 points to Simpson's 161.

The 16 year old from Warriewood made his intentions clear from the opening round at Sydney Motorsport Park, taking victory and putting together an impressive 1-2-4 scorecard aboard his Yamaha R3. He carried that momentum throughout the season, consistently running at the front and building a valuable championship advantage.

Heading into the final round at Queensland Raceway, Oscar led the standings 116 to 108. Against a fiercely competitive field and the defending champion, he produced a composed and intelligent weekend, delivering the results needed to secure the championship. While three different riders shared the race wins across the final round, Oscar's ability to combine outright pace with smart championship management ensured the title was his.

For a 16 year old competing against some of Australia's best young road racers, it was a standout performance that showcased not only his speed, but also the maturity and racecraft of a deserving champion.

Connor Lewis: The Other Brother

Connor enjoyed an outstanding rookie campaign in the 2026 BLU CRU R3 Cup, proving he has the speed, determination and talent to race with Australia's very best young riders. The 14 year old consistently battled at the front of the field, taking on riders with more experience and finishing an impressive fifth overall in one of the country's most competitive junior championships.

Already the reigning 2025 Oceania Junior Cup Champion after securing the title in a dramatic last lap showdown at The Bend, Connor carried that winning momentum into his first season aboard the Yamaha R3. Throughout the championship, he was a genuine title contender, at one stage sitting just two points behind his older brother Oscar as the pair fought for the championship lead.

Connor finished the season on 126 points, capping off a breakthrough year that earned him selection for the 2026 Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Asia Pacific Championship an honour awarded to just eight Australian riders. His pace, racecraft and determination throughout 2026 confirmed that he is one of Australia's brightest young road racing prospects, with an exciting future still ahead.

Valentino Knezovic: 16, a Rookie, and a Whisker From the Title

Valentino Knezovic enjoyed an outstanding rookie season in the 2026 Australian Supersport Championship. At just 16 years old, the Ryde teenager stepped into the highly competitive 600cc class with the Addicted to Track team and immediately put himself in the championship fight.

His breakthrough came at The Bend, where a second place finish and the fastest lap of the race moved him to the top of the championship standings for the first time. He backed that up with a victory at Morgan Park, extending his lead and proving he had the pace to match the best riders in the category.

Valentino's rise has been built on years of success. After winning the 2024 ShopYamaha R3 Cup Championship, he was selected for the 2025 Yamaha bLU cRU Master Camp in Spain, where he trained alongside MotoGP star Fabio Quartararo and World Superbike legend Jonathan Rea.

Valentino carried the championship lead into the final round at Queensland Raceway before changing conditions ended his title challenge in the last race of the season. Although he narrowly missed out on the championship, finishing second overall, his performances throughout the year showed he has the speed, consistency and determination to be one of Australia's leading Supersport riders for years to come.

Riley Nauta: Eight Points, and Five Wins in a Row

Eight points. After a full season of Supersport 300 racing, that was all that stood between Riley Nauta and the title.

The 15 year old from the Gold Coast rides for Champion's Ride Days on a Kawasaki Ninja 400, and he came up not through road racing but through American flat track, where he is a two time AMA Amateur National Champion. His rider profile carries one detail that tells you how he rides: he has never broken a bone. Nauta announced himself in race one of the season at Phillip Island, winning by 1.85 seconds from the rider who would become his title rival, Tyler King. Midway through the year he went on a tear, reeling off five wins in a row to take the championship lead.

The title went the distance. Nauta won the opening race of the Queensland finale by 0.066 seconds. Then, in race two, it came undone through no fault of his own. His own teammate, Orlando Peovitis, ran in too hard at Turn 3, lost the front, and his sliding bike collected a startled Nauta. King kept his head, took the title by eight points, 260 to 252, and became the first New Zealander to win an ASBK crown since Aaron Slight in 1991. Nauta did nothing wrong. He will be back to finish the job.

Jonathan Nahlous: Taking It to the Factory Ducatis

Every other rider on this list races in a support class. Jonathan JJ Nahlous spent 2026 in the main event, the premier Superbike class, and more than held his own. Now 19, riding the Yamaha YZF-R1M for the factory Yamaha Racing Team alongside three time champion Mike Jones, he finished the year seventh overall on 153 points against a grid stacked with factory Ducatis, and he did it in Shark Leathers.

He is used to winning. Nahlous was the 2024 Australian Supersport champion and the 2025 Superbike Rookie of the Year, and in 2026 he added three Superbike podiums to the record. He took third at the Sydney Motorsport Park night round, stood on the podium again at The Bend after a last lap pass, and grabbed second in the wild final race of the Phillip Island opener. At the Queensland finale he topped the first qualifying session and started on the front row against the best in the country. For a 19 year old in only his second season in the class, running with the factory heavyweights, that is a platform to build on.

Jack Passfield: Winning on a Superbike From 1989

Not every hero on this list rides the latest machinery. Jack Passfield does his damage on a Yamaha FZR1040, a built 1989 FZR1000, in the Superbike Masters class, and he describes riding it in terms no modern superbike racer would recognise. In his own words, the bike wants to rip your arms from the socket and tears at your hands causing blisters.

He is winning on it anyway. After Ashley Woolford beat him in the first two races at Morgan Park, Passfield turned the season on its head at Queensland Raceway, sweeping all three Masters races and winning them by two, six and seven seconds. Earlier in the year he set the fastest time of the entire 2026 Bridgestone Festival of Speed on the same 37 year old machine. He now leads the Superbike Masters championship, 140 points to 130, with the title still to be decided at a finale later in the year. Close it out, and it will be one of the great period-racing stories of the season.

The Season in Summary

One national champion in Oscar Lewis. A championship lead to defend for Jack Passfield. Two riders, Valentino Knezovic and Riley Nauta, beaten to their titles in the final race of the year by a combined 23 points, neither through a mistake of their own. A premier-class campaign from Jonathan Nahlous against the best in the country. And a 14 year old in Connor Lewis already winning junior titles. Six riders, six very different stories, all of them in Shark Leathers. The new ASBK summer season starts in October, and every one of them will be back for more.