The rising stars of Aussie road racing stepped up at Guangzhou’s proving ground
A contingent of young Australian riders have tasted success in China recently, hitting the podium at the inaugural Guangzhou Ohvale Supercup held over 31 July-2 August at the Guangzhou Conghua International Circuit (GCIC). The event drew an experienced international field of 90 riders from over 20 countries that included Jake Paige, Josh White and Judd Plaisted in the 190cc class, with Archie Pope, Chaz Williams, Cooper Horne, Huxley Nolan and Finn Mellerick competing in the 160cc class. There was also an opportunity to race in two rounds of China’s MiniGP series, which were held either side of the Supercup at the same venue.
The Supercup format is highly competitive and consisted of qualifying races prior to the main races and double-point Superfinal. Just making the main event is an achievement in itself, with Josh White narrowly missing out by finishing in P3 in the final qualifier. After racing in stifling humidity for the opening days, the Superfinal was held in treacherous wet conditions where Venezuelan Diego Gonzalez took out the top spot for the 190cc class, a result that will earn him a wildcard entry to the final round of the CIV Italian Junior Championship in October. Showing the calibre of riders in Guangzhou, Gonzalez last year finished on the podium in the 160cc World Superfinal.
Plaisted was the best placed Aussie, coming in with fourth in the Superfinal race and fourth in the combined points after finishing second in both the opening main races.
After qualifying in fourth, Jake Paige suffered some bad luck with a crash in race one ruling him out of the points and sending him to the back of the grid for race two. Another crash in the Superfinal with zero points capped a frustrating event for Paige.
Team Manager Wayne Maxwell was on hand to mentor the young riders, saying, “There was plenty of chaos! It’s heartbreaking for me to see Jake; he had pace all weekend but sometimes you need a little bit of luck. He didn’t have that today but he never gave up and I’m proud of him for that. Judd fought all the way, too, he was smart but just had a little moment in the wet.”
In the 160cc class, Archie Pope picked up a third in the Superfinal to finish fourth in the combined points while Chaz Williams took a stunning win in the opening race, backed up by fourth in the second encounter. Some bad luck in the rain saw him crash out of the Superfinal. “I was pushing hard in P2 when I went down, I was able to remount and finish fourth but under the rules, any crash counts as a withdrawal,” Williams said.
Huxley Nolan scored points in both the main races and then posted a sensational P4 in the wet Superfinal. Cooper Horne also scored points in the opening main races but was pushed off track in the Superfinal. Maxwell was again upbeat, saying, “The Superfinal was bittersweet. Chaz was in the fight for the win there. We had good pace in the dry but it just didn’t work out for us in the rain – but we’re competitive and very happy with the overall results.”
Finn Mellerick, with limited road racing experience, battled hard in qualifying but missed out on the main races.
Wayne Maxwell: “Events like the Guangzhou Supercup are such a good opportunity to learn and we can see our pathway for young riders developing all the time. Learning is a two-way street thing and other countries picked up on how we acted like a team, we were there for each other not just at the event but also in our training structure; to see that noticed was very encouraging. I’d like to particularly thank Ohvale and everyone in China at the GCIC, the only thing our boys had to pay for was their airfare and the hospitality was unbelievable.”
The best of the Aussies
Judd Plaisted: Plaisted took wins in both the Chinese FIM MiniGP rounds held either side of the Supercup and was pleased with his performance of fourth in the Superfinal. ‘Rocket Ronny’ narrowly missed pole position in qualifying and showed marked improvement in the wet.
Jake Paige: In the Superfinal, Paige said he was pushing hard in the first few laps and went down, rejoining the race with a twisted handlebar. Paige twice fell victim to the ruling of ‘no points’ after remounting from a crash, having also fallen in the opening main race. Paige showed excellent pace over the meeting with his highlight being P4 in the second main race after running as high as third.
Archie Pope: With fourth in the combined points and third in the Superfinal, Archie Pope was ecstatic with his first taste of international competition, saying, “I couldn’t be more proud to have claimed two international podiums in just one week in my first year of road racing, in a competition containing some of the best riders from 23 countries around the world!”
Chaz Williams: Despite some frustration in the Superfinal after brilliant results in the main races, Williams was very pleased with his results, saying, “It wasn’t the ending we hoped for, but still an unreal experience racing at this level. Lots of lessons, lots of growth, and plenty of positives to take forward. Still, I was stoked to come away with my first international podium at a World Cup event. A huge milestone!”
What is the Ghuangzhou Supercup?
China is developing a real interest in motorcycle racing at the grass roots level and the Guangzhou Supercup is the first international Ohvale event to be held outside of Europe. With ample government funding, the aim is to develop the GCIC complex into an FIM ‘class one’ track that can showcase MotoGP events within five years. The GCIC venue drew high praise from the Aussies with all the motorcycles, accommodation and technical support supplied by the organisers with help from Ohvale. This, combined with a relatively short 7-9hour flight, makes China an attractive proposition for young Aussie riders seeking to gain international experience.
The team were well supported by their customary entourage of mentors including Wayne Maxwell and Cameron Dunker. A highlight of the trip was the collaboration between racing countries like the US – who had former MotoGP star John Hopkins on hand as a mentor – as well as the cultural aspect, which included a tour of Bruce Lee’s house!
“Events like the Guangzhou Supercup are such a good opportunity to learn,” explained Maxwell. “And we can see our pathway for young riders developing all the time. Learning is a two-way street thing and other countries picked up on how we acted like a team; we were there for each other, not just at the event but also in our training structure. To see that noticed was very encouraging.
“I’d like to particularly thank Ohvale and everyone in China at the GCIC. The only thing our boys had to pay for was their airfare and the hospitality was unbelievable.”
