Revolving Racer – Mitch Levy

One of the remarkable things about racing is that it allows you as a kid to dream big and focus on a goal.  Late last year I was given an opportunity to achieve one of my dreams and compete in the World Supersport Championship at Phillip Island as a wildcard.

I’ve been riding at national road racing events since I was 15, and like many other young racers I started in the juniors by borrowing a Moriwaki 80 and heading down to Phillip Island to get licenced and have a go in a junior event. The bike broke down in all 6 races, and I don’t think I completed a full lap, but the experience of being at Phillip Island was enough and the road race bug bit hard.

Racing is in my blood, but usually mixed with dirt as my family has a long association with speedway.  My grandfather was an Australian Speedway Champion in the 50’s when the sport was huge in Australia. Nearly all of the Levy family have at one time raced speedway on 2, 3 or 4 wheels dating back to the 1930’s so my decision to focus on road racing raised a few eyebrows in the family.

Late last year I was asked if I wanted to ride for a Sydney based privateer team as a wildcard in the World Supersport championship at Phillip Island. I had missed a couple rounds of the ASC through injury, and hadn’t had a lot of track time in 2015, but podium result at the MotoGP support races showed I was fit and eager so I planned big for 2016. The team is owned by Sam Costanzo, Landbridge Racing and I can’t thank Sam enough for having faith in me when I am sure some may have doubted my ability at that level.

The wildcard week went without fault during practice and qualifying and we were chipping away with PB’s in every session.  I had never worked with a data guy before and the improvements both in the bike and myself that could be achieved by analysing the data surprised me.

We were confident of putting in a good performance during the race however on the warm up lap a gremlin appeared and I was forced to enter pit lane – I thought my race was over but some quick work by the team quickly solved the issue. Despite this I was forced to start the race from pit lane which left me around 10 seconds behind the field after the first lap. Riding out the back by myself it took me a few laps to relax and get in a groove but by mid race I was beginning to catch and pass a few of the backmarkers.  Then the drizzle came and I saw the opportunity to push hard through some of the slippery sections and close the gap to the next pack of riders. The last few laps were hectic and we worked our way up to P14 on the penultimate lap before finishing in P15 and securing a World Championship point. The world championship point was for the team who had put in so much time and effort to give me the opportunity. In reflection I would have loved to have run the first few laps with the pack and see what could have developed as the team had given me an awesome bike. Perhaps next year!

Having sampled a small taste of the “big show” leaves you wanting more and my goal is now to one day secure a permanent position on the World Supersport grid.

At the moment I would describe myself as a part time racer and a full time Carpenter.  I wish it was the other way around. Family have pretty much funded my racing so I consider myself a true privateer. We don’t do many track or practice days due to work and funding is tight. Last year we attracted support from a couple of local businesses which managed to keep us racing with assistance from the YRD program. ATR (All Types of Rubbish) came on board as did several other small businesses and they are again helping us out this year. Held & Arai also helped me with the wildcard ride and I am keen to repay their support with some wins in the Supersport class this year.

Overall I consider myself to be extremely lucky to be racing and I intend to enjoy and make the most of every lap in the future.