By RUSSELL COLVIN
RYAN Taylor, 27, has kick started his Australian Supersport Championship campaign off in the best possible way by claiming a solid third place last weekend at Phillip Island when the ASBK championship was racing alongside the opening round of the FIM eni World Superbike Championship.
Taylor, who hails from Garfield, qualified his all new look RTR by Moto Obsession Yamaha R6 in sixth position with a time of 1min38.682. While the bike was handling well, Taylor was affected by fuel issues that he labelled the major downfall to his overall pace.
Once the green flag dropped for race one on Saturday, Taylor managed to come home in fifth place after a good ‘ding-dong’ battle with New South Welshman rider, Mitch Levy.
Race two on Sunday saw Taylor get a diabolical start that saw him back as far as 12th.
However, the three-time Victorian Supersport champion wasted no time by carving his way through the field like a hot knife through butter making his way up to fourth position in the 10-lap race. With a 5-4 result, Taylor bagged 33 points and regarded it as a “great weekend overall.”
“Overall, it’s been great. We started off the weekend with a lot of troubles, and due to helping Aiden Wagner, who raced as a wildcard rider in the World Supersport championship, we did not have a lot of time to work on our bike. However, the new RTR by Moto Obsession did some amazing work to get me on the podium again. Many thanks to all my sponsors and supporters who are the backbone to my racing,” Taylor said.
This year, Taylor will be joined by stable mate Mason Coote from Glen Iris in Victoria. Coote, 22, finished ninth overall with an 8-10 result.
“It was a great weekend riding for the new RTR by Moto Obsession; however I just need a bit more time to gel with the team.”
The next round of the Australian Supersport Championship is from 10-12 April at Morgan Park in Queensland.
