Shooting stars
The up-and-coming MotoStars riders are primed for action after a cracking 2017
MOTOSTARS LIT UP the
scene in its debut season, with
eight classes of competition
across a wide variety of short
circuits.
The series has established
a strong following in a short
time, holding not only
competition days but also
regular coaching and training
led by former MotoGP racer
Damian Cudlin.
“It’s a good opportunity for
dirt trackers or motocrossers
to tr y road racing,” Cudlin
said. “From my experience
racing overseas it was
apparent that the reason
young Spanish or Italian guys
are doing so well is because
they have early exposure to
the sport. There are some
great riders in this countr y,
but the main reason I started
this project was to enable
kids to be exposed to road
racing earlier in life, so when
opportunities do come up the
riders that have potential are
better prepared.”
Junior riders have a choice
of bikes, but after sampling
Kayo machinery in Malaysia
at a promotional event Cudlin
had the idea to bring these
entry-level racers back to
Australia and use them for
training, and they are proving
incredibly popular.
The series took in a variety
of locations, including
Toowoomba and the Gold
Coast in Queensland, and Port
Macquarie, Kembla Grange
and Albury in NSW.
Making a big impact this
year in the Junior classes was
12-year-old Ben Baker. He
excelled in his transition from
dirt to road racing, taking out
the MotoStars Production
(12-15 years) and MotoStars
Youth (12-15 years) classes.
According to his dad, Daniel,
the Kayo 150 is his favourite
bike to ride.
“It’s like a mini-GP bike,
easy to ride but a challenge to
ride fast,” Daniel said. “All the
Kayos are almost identical inperformance, providing a true
level playing field.
“The kids are like little
sponges, soaking up Damian’s
advice and coaching, then
trying it on the track next time
they race. They all help each
other any way they can. It’s
great to see.”
In the MotoStars Junior
class for kids aged nine to 11,
Marianos Nikolis took out
the title despite being one of
the youngest and smallest
in the field. Cudlin said
he responded very well to
coaching during the year and
w ill definitely be a name to
look out for in the future.
Casey Middleton also
relished the opportunity, the
Brisbane nine-year-old taking
fourth in the Junior class
riding a Honda NSF100.
Casey said the one-on-one
coaching was a huge help:
“The most important thing I
learnt this year is that I need
to be consistent w ith my lines
and set myself up for thecorners, as well as learning
to be a good sport even when
I don’t get the results I was
hoping for!”
MotoStars also caters for
older riders, 25-year-old
Jarrod Wilson beating a
class field to take out the
SuperMotoStars Senior class.
“We had ex-road racers who
had all the lines on the tar
sections and plenty of speed
to go with it, which made for
a few good battles,” Jarrod
said. “Coming from an MX
background I learnt a lot from
these guys on how to carry
speed on the tar. Damian,
Amy and the crew did an
awesome job and things ran
as smoothly as things can go
in motorsport.”
Other senior champions
were Michael Johnston
(MotoStars Senior) and
Tony Vella (Mini-MotoStars
Senior).
For 2018 competition dates,
pricing and race school days,
go to motostars.com.au.REPORTMATT O’CONNELL PHOTOGRAPHY LINDA MIDDLETON1 Benny Baker, 12, shows
title-winning form in true
Marquez style 2 MotoStars
is not just for juniors, as
25-year-old Jarrod Wilson
showed in winning a senior
class 3 Nine-year-old
Marianos Nikolis showed
the benefit of intensive
one-on-one tuition with
three wins 4 Smiles all
round at the end of the dayMotoStars 2017club sport
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