Recapping the FIM MiniGP Australia action from Monarto, SA

2024 Fusport FIM MiniGP Australia Series
Round Four – Monarto

Images by RbMotoLens

FIM MINIGP 160 cc & FIM MINIGP 190 cc

The fourth round of the FIM MiniGP Series Australia was contested at the Monarto Go-Kart Track near Murray Bridge (SA) on the weekend of August 24-25.

Champions were crowned in the two classes with a round to spare, which saw the victors score an early booking to Spain for the World Cup final in November.

In the 160 cc class for the 10-14-year-olds, season pacesetter Judd “Rocket Ronny” Plaisted continued his dominant form to remain undefeated after two further victories in his own backyard, to back up a perfect run of pole positions.

In the larger capacity 190 cc class for 12-15-year-olds, it was Sydneysider Levi Russo who claimed the silverware. While he didn’t greet the chequered flag first in either race, he did enough to ensure that he scored another ticket to Europe. Russo is also competing in his second year of the Asia Talent Cup, and no doubt this has had a bearing on his racecraft.

In the 190 cc class, Toowoomba 12-year-old Hunter Corney took pole along with qualifying and race lap records on his way to two dominant wins. It was a weekend of firsts for the youngster as he cut his own small slice of history in his first year in the class, showing the kind of form that makes him an early favourite for next year’s honours.

FIM MINIGP 160 cc Race One

Plaisted has been in a virtual class of his own this year. The South Australian has been a part of the series since its 2022 inception. Judd came to last year’s 2023 season as a favourite, but an off-season practice crash on the dirt resulted in severe injuries that forced him out of the opening round.

As such, he played catch up all last year and missed out on the coveted trip to Spain when he finished fourth overall. Those who finished ahead of him have now graduated to other classes in 2024.

This year has been a completely different story, a tale of utter domination. Plaisted has claimed every pole position, broken the lap records at each track, and won every race, the majority by a massive margin – the largest by over 13 seconds – and remains undefeated with two races remaining.

In race one Plaisted bolted off the line and was never threatened as he settled into a metronomic run of fast laps. Over the duration of the 18 laps he set up a race winning lead of over 11 seconds.

On the first flying lap Judd broke the lap record and for the next 14 laps there was a “massive” 0.709 second difference in his lap times.

While it may have been a little processional at the front there was plenty of action behind.  Chaz Williams, Isaac Ayad, Austin Attard – and for a few laps Nathan Ayad – were in a very entertaining battle for the podium spots.

Ethan dropped off after half-race distance as Williams, Attard and Ayad set about trying to unsettle each other. There were some determined passing moves around the 11-corner track. With a few laps remaining Ayad and Attard were embroiled in battle as Williams kept them at bay.

Attard and Ayad swapped positions a number of times over the closing laps, but at the final corner with three laps to go there wasn’t enough room for both. Attard was on the inside as Ayad went around the outside and in a typical racing incident the pair touched. Attard came out second best, high-siding spectacularly out of the race.

With Plaisted a clear winner, Williams claimed second from Ayad by just over a tenth of a second. Williams is another revelation this season as we discover yet another 10-year-old with a stellar future on the tar after an impressive resume gained on the dirt.

The Ayad brothers have been receiving coaching from Anthony West, which is showing via improvements in their racecraft.

Plaisted had one hand and a few fingers on the trophy, but there was still work to be done to secure the title.

FIM MINIGP 160 cc Race One Results

FIM MINIGP 160 cc Race Two

Drama unfolded during the lunch break when the weather took a dramatic turn for the worse, the skies darkened, the wind increased, and the rain started to fall. Proceedings were paused after lunch to give the skies a chance to clear, and by the time the kids took to the track for the final leg, the surface was drying.

The pace slowed slightly as discretion took precedence, but it added to the spectacle as Ayad, Plaisted, Attard, Cooper Horne, and Williams were locked together.

With a couple of near misses in the sketchy conditions, Williams and Horne dropped behind as Plaisted, Ayad and Attard were all over each other in the quest to lead the race.

Ayad led for the majority as Plaisted maintained a holding pattern behind the Sydney-sider, but everyone, including Ayad, was waiting, waiting, waiting. It all came down to the last lap, the last corner.

The trio were literally side-by-side looking for a dive bomb move. With two corners to go, Plaisted pushed Ayad slightly wide to grab the lead, but Ayad and Attard came back at him in the final turn for a drag to the line. Plaisted prevailed to win by just 0.082 seconds from Ayad, and Attard recovered well after his earlier crash to finish third, just 0.260 behind.

Ayad had the consolation of learning over the weekend that he has been accepted for the Asia Talent Cup selection event at Sepang later this year. While Attard, another 10-year-old and with a lot less experience than Plaisted or Ayad, has demonstrated that he is a star of the future.

Austin needed dispensation to start the year as a nine-year-old and, as such, couldn’t score points in the first two rounds but did manage to claim a lap record at Newcastle to indicate how good he may be.

While Plaisted has the trophy and the trip to Spain secured with one round to go, the battle for the final invite will go to the wire at Port Melbourne in October.

Williams, Ayad and Horne all have a chance of representing Australia come November.  Williams is in the box seat with an 18-point buffer over Ayad, who in-turn is just four points ahead of Horne.

FIM MINIGP 160 cc Race Two Results

FIM MINIGP 160 cc Round Overall

FIM MINIGP 160 cc Standings

FIM MINIGP 190 cc Race One

Three of the 190 cc entrants, Levi Russo, Archie Schmidt and Rikki Henry, had competed the week before in the second round of the Asia Talent Cup at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, so the trio were race-fit and raring to go.

For Rikki Henry it was a cameo appearance, as after taking out the 160 cc class last year, it was his debut in the FIM MiniGP 190 cc class, and only the fourth time he had ridden the larger-capacity machine.

Levi Russo also had to bear in mind that a trip to Spain was his main goal and not do anything untoward that might deny his second trip to the shoot-outs.

In qualifying, Bodie Paige set the early pace and claimed a new qualifying fastest lap in Q1. He lowered it again early in Q2, but Corney was not to be denied. Corney has set records in the 160 cc class and did it again on the 11^th of his 14 laps.

Bodie Paige tried desperately to reclaim the honour but missed out by just 0.028 seconds. He was extremely unhappy at the end of the session not to grab the top slot, but more heartache would come on race day.

Rounding out the front row was local lad Schmidt who hails from nearby Mt Barker. Last year he debuted in the series at Monarto and was looking forward to another strong performance after his ATC experience the weekend previous.

Russo led row two from Jake, the younger Paige, with Hudson Thompson and Rikki Henny rounding out the field. The numbers might be low, but the level of racing and competition is high indeed.

In race one, it was over before it started for Bodie. His bike was sounding extremely rough on the sighting and warm-up laps, forcing him into the pits before the lights went out. It’s another devastating blow for the kid, as he was forced out of the opening race back in Newcastle in a similar situation.

Corney grabbed the holeshot from Schmidt, Jake Paige and Russo. Corney then put in another clinical performance at the front. After only six laps of the 19-lap journey, Corney had over a one-second lead as Jake Paige, Schmidt and Russo fought for podium positions. Corney established a new lap record on the fourth circuit as he stretched his lead lap by lap.

Jake Paige was second across the line until the 17th of 18 laps, but there was plenty of toing-and-froing from the trio at every corner. On the second last lap, Russo grabbed second from Paige and Schmidt.

Corney took the win by over four seconds, but just over half a second separated the trio at the flag. Russo got the better of Jake Paige by just 0.470 seconds, and Schmidt was just 0.265 off the podium.

As for Bodie Paige, he rejoined the race a lap down in an effort to salvage some points, but the gremlins returned, forcing him to the side of the track. 

He tried valiantly to restart the machine and succeeded momentarily before the bike cried enough and he had to retire. The culprit was discovered to be a cracked spark plug cap.

FIM MINIGP 190 cc Race One Results

FIM MINIGP 190 cc Race Two

The second race commenced under threatening skies. The track had dried, but dark clouds still loomed.

Again, Hunter Corney grabbed the lead but had a much harder fight on his hands as Bodie Paige was determined to make up for his first race disappointment, grabbing second from his younger brother. Archie Schmidt dropped to sixth off the line and become caught up in a duel with Hudson Thompson and Rikki Henry.

At the front, Corney had a hard time keeping the Paige boys at bay as Russo was slightly off, but worked his way into the race. But on the 11^th lap, it again fell apart for Bodie.

Heading into turn 5, the bike cut off again, and as such, he crashed. He remounted, but the same thing happened, and he hit the deck again, although he restarted the recalcitrant machine to get going again, albeit a couple of laps down.

Meanwhile, at the front, Russo reduced the gap to Corney, and Paige and closed right onto Corney’s rear wheel as the rain started as a drizzle, before quickly turning into a deluge.

No sooner had Russo taken the lead at the start of the 17^th lap than the officials raised the red flag, as the conditions had deteriorated to the point that they threatened the safety of the youngsters.

As such, results were taken back a lap, with Corney claiming the win from Russo and Jake Paige third.

After a shaky start to the opening two rounds (he was very sick at round two), Corney has trained hard and really come of age in the class at Monarto, with a dominant display all weekend.

One has to really feel for Bodie Paige. Last year, he just missed out on a trip to Spain and has been a determined young fellow at every outing since, but through no fault of his own, his bike expired on the warm-up lap at Cameron Park at round two, and the gremlins returned at Monarto.

He retains third in the title chase, with the top three selected to head to the Iberian peninsula in November. Bodie is a solitary point behind Jake, who sits in second, but he has Thompson six-points adrift and Corney a further two points astern with two races remaining. After his rotten luck, he won’t be taking anything for granted!

One consolation is that Bodie is returning to the USA in September for more AMA Dirt Track racing and to compete in the Moto America Junior Cup.

The level of competition in the FIM MiniGP Australia series is really top-notch, and many of these kids have a bright future ahead of them. However, we all know what a long, hard, and cruel road it can be as they set about chasing their dreams.

The opportunities for a future in road racing are stronger than ever, so let’s hope the “Road to MotoGP” continues to provide a path for more Aussie kids to reach the top.

The three principles behind the series, Wayne Maxwell, Nick Angelopolous and Dimitri Papaconstantinou should be applauded for all their hard work, dedication, passion and belief in what they are working hard to achieve.

The final round of the FIM MiniGP Australia series is at Port Melbourne International Karting complex on October 12-13.

FIM MINIGP 190 cc Race Two Results

FIM MINIGP 190 cc Round Overall

FIM MINIGP 190 cc Standings

Support Classes

While the main races are over two legs, the support classes had four races apiece planned with some thoroughly entertaining displays throughout.

The Ohvale Novice/Pro was dominated by Cam Dunker who took out the four wins for a perfect weekend, but it wasn’t all plain sailing. Making a cameo appearance on the weekend – and having a break from overseas racing duties – was 17-year-old Marianos Nikolis, as well as sometime racer Joe Mariniello.

Nikolis scored three second places but missed the last race when the rains appeared, as he had no wet weather tyres. Before then, he had good tussles with Dunker, Dean Oughtred, Adam Banner and Jai Russo.

In the second leg, Dunker, Nikolis and Russo were bashing and bouncing off each other within a corner or two, and it eventually came unstuck for one of the duellists. Dunker escaped but Russo ended up second best as he crashed out in the melee to score a DNF.

The last race was in treacherous conditions with half the field hitting the deck, but such is the “crash-ability” of the Ohvale most were up and running very soon after, hardly missing a beat. In that last race, Mariniello claimed second and the fastest lap by some two seconds. If the race had been a lap longer…

Dunker won the overall from Mariniello, with Reece (son of Dean) Oughtred’s consistency in finishing every race giving him third overall. It may be Reece’s last outing for a while as he is slated to join the RAAF in the near future, heading to basic training at Wagga Wagga in NSW.

Many of those that raced in the Pro class also doubled up in the Ohvale Veterans, providing the usual high quality racing, with the elder statesmen of the classes putting on some very spirited displays and lapping not that much slower than their much younger and less fearful younger peers.

Alessandro Fogli took the overall with two wins, a second and a fifth place after remounting from a crash in the last race.

Second on the day was the defending Vet champion Matt Watkins, with Dean Oughtred third after claiming his second win of the year when he was victorious in the final leg.

With one round to play Watkins leads the title by just three points from Fogli with Nick Angelopolous third.

Other classes were the Pro and Clubman Supermotard and a 300 cc Proddie category both well subscribed by the Simpson clan.

Australian Supersport runner up from last year Olly Simpson had his brother Jordon to deal with, along with Dad Nathan throwing a leg over a bike for the first time in over a year. Nikolis was out there as well throwing his Husky sideways at every opportunity.

Olly and Marianos split the wins two apiece and tied on points with Olly grabbing the best silverware in a countback. Jordon was third, as Daniel Parker took out the Clubman class.

The 300 Proddies only had three entrants with Olly and Jordon Simpson joined by Lucas Warren, Olly wining every race run, although the last race was canned when the rains came later on Sunday afternoon.

Ohvale Pro Class Results/Standings

Ohvale Veterans Round Results/Standings

SuperMoto Pro Results/Standings

SuperMoto Clubman Results/Standings

Supersport 300 Results/Standings

Check out some of the FIM MiniGP Australia action from South Australian on YouTube