Local championships have an enduring role to play in any young racer’s career
In our recent ‘Dream Chasers’ feature we talked about the effort and sacrifices families put into helping their kids live the dream on the international stage. Let’s now talk about the importance of local, state and national championships in both nurturing that dream and also being a confidence booster for those needing a reality check after a tough season in an international championship.
A major standout to me is the journey of Oli Bayliss. Bayliss left these shores in 2022 for his initial adventure into the Supersport World Championship where he finished 16th overall, riding a Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati Panigale V2.
In the three years after, he finished 21st in 2023 for another Ducati team, 14th in 2024 and last year ended up 14th after switching to PTR Triumph Factory Racing. He remains with PTR Triumph in 2026 where he sits in 13th place with four rounds remaining. Arguably this is his best year, having scored two podiums and a fastest race lap, but it is what he has done outside the world championship paddock that has people taking more notice of the talented 22-year-old. Taking a step sideways during breaks of the WorldSSP championship has done wonders for his confidence and given him a chance to regroup and refocus.
After missing the first two rounds of the BSB in the Supersport category, Oli currently sits third in the title riding for Macadam Triumph Factory Racing.
He has hit the championship like a cannonball. In the 10 races he has contested, Oli has been on the podium after every race, scoring six wins – including five on the trot – two second placings and the same for third place. And on many tracks he had never seen before. Bloody impressive.
Oli’s sideways step has certainly received attention. His bargaining power will have increased dramatically. That may not have happened if he hadn’t embarked on this BSB adventure.
After a promising start to the 2026 WSSP season at the Phillip Island opener, Oli endured three rounds of scoring no points with a few mechanical DNFs mixed with a couple of crashes. His teammate, Tom Booth-Amos, has now secured fifth in the title chase after a double win at his home round at Donington. Meanwhile, Oli has gelled extremely well with Triumph’s BSB team. When you consider he turns 23 in September and that his Dad, Troy, was somewhat of a ‘late-starter’ in his road racing quest, Oli has the advantage of time on his side. I believe it won’t be long before he steps up to a Superbike after these years of hard toil in WSSP.
As another point of reference: one of Oli’s long-time rivals, Turkish rider Can Oncu, made his debut in the class at Thruxton with exceptional battles with Bayliss. Oncu stepped in for injured Aussie Ben Currie, who was looking threatening in his quest for a second Supersport crown before a massive accident at Oulton Park in July.
Oncu’s presence confirmed that the intensity of world championship racing brings another element to any domestic competition. Let’s hope a similar scenario unfolds in the upcoming ASBK Summer Championship.
Now let’s look closer to home where I’ve been watching a couple of 15-year-olds make the huge jump up to our Supersport class. Ethan Johnson and Phoenix O’Brien are just a two of our bumper crop of young roadracers pushing the boundaries.
Ethan came through Ohvale racing and then onto Moto3/4 machines before doing a couple of rounds of the ASBK Supersport Championship earlier this year. Currently he leads the Victorian Supersport Championship by 23 points, with one round to go.
At the recent second round of the Victorian titles at Broadford, Phoenix took the plunge into the 600cc class on a 15-year-old Yamaha R6. He qualified fifth and recorded 3-2-1-1 results, and with the fastest 600cc lap of the weekend went within 1.5secs of the lap record set by JJ Nahlous. He has leap-frogged into fourth place in the title; at his first crack on a 600 and aged just 15!
I watched as Phoenix was millimetre perfect in his racing lines, with almost metronomic lap times. His corner entry speed to make up for a distinct horsepower disadvantage was very impressive.
Like Ethan, Phoenix started off in Ohvales. For the past couple of years he’s been racing in ASBK Supersport 300 (he finished 10th overall this year), as well as the bLU cRU Yamaha R3 Asia Pacific Championship where he finished on the podium at the third round at Mandalika, Indonesia.
Even before Broadford, Phoenix had received an offer to compete in Asia for a formidable team; it’s all happening at the right time because he’s too big for the 300 class, so the obvious next step is the Supersport category.
17-year-old Matthew Ritter also competed in the same ASBK class as O’Brien this year and finished eighth overall, then rose to the 600cc class at Broadford with 4-4-3-DNF results and was right amongst the lead group. Another name to highlight but, as I said before, just one of many bright lights.
Mentioning Asia, 14-year-old Jackson Macdonald also competed at Broadford. The son of multiple motocross champion Glenn, Jackson’s latest overseas sojourn is to Japan to compete in the junior classes. It’s a huge move up the ladder – but he is under the tutelage of ex-MotoGP winner Tadayuki Okada and former HRC rider and test rider for HRC, Shinya Takeishi. Jackson has previously dipped his toes into the waters of the junior Spanish championships, so he’s no stranger to racing in another country and culture.
He recently made his first trip to the podium in Japan when he finished third in the J-GP3 International class. He will return to Japan soon to see out the series, presently sitting second overall with one round to go in November.
So, looking at just these few examples of Aussie riders on the way up, it’s obvious there are many options for riders and families to consider when chasing that dream. But local championships are both the starting point and a comfort zone where our overseas riders can keep their skill levels up during a break.
Which brings me to another issue. Look at the people running and marshalling these local titles. Many have been doing it for decades and are ageing. Where is the new generation to take over from them? As without officials, we have no racing.
But that’s a question to examine another time. Hooroo.
