Aussie young guns Tommy Edwards and Reid Bettye made their world championship debuts last weekend when the two youngsters lined up in the highly competitive Supersport 300 World Championship race in Jerez in Spain over 20-22 October.
And while all eyes were on the battle at the front to see who would be crowned the series’ first-ever world champion, the two young Australian riders held their own and outperformed many more experienced riders when it mattered.
Edwards, who won the 2017 Australian R3 Cup championship, and Battye, the newly crowned Australian under 300 champion, eased their way into the weekend finishing 33rd and 22nd respectively in the opening practice session from a packed field of 39 riders.
By the second practice session, Edwards was up to 19th, which is where he would impressively finish the 11-lap race, while Battye ended the second practice session in 31st.
The pair dug deep during qualifying’s Superpole 1. Of the 29 riders all vying for one of the two top spots who would get a berth in SP2 Edwards was sixth fastest and missed out by less than one second to secure 16th on the grid while Battye’s 17th meant he would start the race from 25th.
Edwards finished the weekend in 19th place, just over 20 seconds down on the race winner, while Battye finished in 27th place, 25.5secs down.
By Kel Buckley
