KTM’s Angus Reekie in action at Sydney Motorsport Park. Image: Keith Muir.

Who rides ‘up a class’ and gives away 30 horsepower when they could stay where they are and maybe pocket another national title? KTM RC8R Racing Team rider Angus Reekie does.

The David versus Goliath story of this year’s FX-Superbike series sees former FX Pro Thunder champion Angus Reekie step up to take on the four-cylinder superbikes on KTM’s radical-looking 1190RC8R.

“I won the Pro Thunder series in 2011 and was in the box seat last year when I had a dirt bike accident and had to have my shoulder reconstructed,” said Reekie, “and now it’s time for a new challenge.”

For 2013 Reekie has stepped up into the premier class of FX-Superbike, where he knows he’ll give away up to 30 horsepower and 15-20kph down the straight. But it’s the experience he’s chasing – not the outcome.

“I want to chase the best guys,” said Reekie, and I’d prefer to get beat and learn something than ride around at the front of the pack at my own pace.”

Reekie’s thirst for challenge had its first test at the weekend’s first round of the Formula Xtreme series at Eastern Creek raceway, where he battled to 12th place in each of the three legs despite struggling to find the setup to keep pace with the changing conditions. His consistency was rewarded with 11th overall.

“It was awesome fun,” enthused Reekie. “There are 20 guys all within 3 seconds of each other, and I give away a fair bit on the straights, but my bike is amazing under brakes and on the turn-in, so I made most of my passes on the way into Turn Two and Turn Nine.”

The twins may struggle to compete at the end of the straight, but Reekie finds the KTM1190RC8R’s other virtues a source of constant enjoyment.

“Our bike is just so well balanced and the Brembo brakes are unbelievable, it’s really stable even if you get in hot and it just sticks really well. It’s a real racer’s bike that I reckon anyone could jump on and go fast and feel comfortable immediately.

“The feedback we’ve gotten with it has been all good and positive – it’s something unique to anything else in the paddock. We also got a lot left in both the bike and myself and I’m confident that we’ll crack the top 10 throughout season.”

The next round of the Formula Xtreme series takes place at Winton Raceway on 5-7 April.