Seven of Australia's top riders will ride for glory on home turf at Phillip Island this weekend. The nation's lone MotoGP regular, Jack Miller, will lead two countrymen who received late-notice calls to substitute for injured riders.
Damian Cudlin has replaced Alex de Angelis on the IodaRacing ART machine for the local round, while Anthony West will replace Karel Abraham for the AB Honda outfit. West has form at the Island, having edged out series frontman Marc Marquez to take a podium result in the Moto2 category in 2012. 
Australia's outright contenders will be bolstered by fellow locals Joshua Hook in Moto2 and Olly Simpson, Matt Barton and Remy Gardner in Moto3.
Gardner is the son of 1987 world motorcycle champion Wayne Gardner, who hopes to replicate his father's success.
RED BULL SORTED
Australian Formula One fans can relax in the knowledge that Red Bull's grand prix effort is likely to continue in 2016. The team was on rocky ground without an engine supplier for next year, as Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz have refused to supply the likes of Daniel Ricciardo with race-winning engines. The team's relationship with Renault, its current engine builder, reached breaking point this season following two years of public criticism from the UK-based team. But talks between the parties reopened at the Russian grand prix last week. F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone told Autosport that "things are sorted", and that Red Bull remain on the grid in 2016.
INGALL'S NEW ALLEGIANCE
Having contested the Bathurst 1000 for the Holden Racing Team last week, V8 Supercars legend turned TV commentator Russell Ingall will switch allegiances to Ford for the next race. Ingall has been named as the replacement for injured front-runner Chaz Mostert at the crack Prodrive Racing Australia outfit formerly known as Ford Performance Racing. The veteran driver will share a Falcon with Cameron Waters, a young driver expected to take a full-time seat on the V8 grid next year. Ingall did not plan to drive in the category this year, but made cameo appearances at Sandown and Bathurst as a substitute for injured Holden man James Courtney.
TIME ATTACK CHALLENGE
Sydney Motorsport Park was under assault for the World Time Attack Challenge this weekend. Dozens of drivers and tuners from Australia and beyond gathered to see who could set the fastest lap time under a strict set of rules. Unlike most motor sport categories, there is no wheel-to-wheel racing for position, as the objective is simply to set the fastest lap possible in a similar fashion to a conventional qualifying session. The cars ran grooved Yokohama control tyres as opposed to F1-style racing slicks, along with wild bodywork that includes massive carbon-fibre wings at the front and rear. Supercars from the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini are banned, leaving more affordable Japanese machines as the heroes of the show. Sydney's Garth Walden was the man to beat in early running, setting a rapid 1m25.09s lap that put him at the head of the field. Walden's Tilton Racing Mitsubishi Lancer is the fastest "tin top" car around the track formerly known as Eastern Creek, owing to the 1m24.84s effort he recorded at the circuit last year. That's more than four seconds faster than the fastest V8 Supercars lap of the current track layout, and well under the 1m26.86s effort recorded by the Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 of Richard Muscat in the Australian GT Championship last year.
Walden was joined at the track by V8 Supercars regulars Shane Van Gisbergen and David Wall, along with tarmac rally hotshoe Steve Glenney and Japan's Under Suzuki.