Image: Russell Colvin.

Former European Superstock 600 FIM Cup Champion Jed Metcher will return to Australia fulltime in the future following a frustrating beginning to the 2016 season overseas.

The Victorian, who was the joint winner of this year’s Ken Wootton Perpetual Trophy at the International Island Classic, will fly back into Melbourne this weekend to focus on developing Race Center.

This year Metcher signed to race for Team Wilbers BMW to contest the 2016 German IDM Superbike Championship, however after splitting with the team before the start of the season, the 26-year-old picked up a few rides along the way, including a ride with Kawasaki Puccetti in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup at Assen and a World Supersport fill-in position with WILSport Racedays Honda at Imola.

“Decision made! I’m heading back to Australia to focus on developing Race Center in Melbourne,” Metcher announced via social media. “This is due to the tough times I’ve encountered at the start of the 2016 race season.

“Focus will be on staying fit and enjoying the Melbourne winter for the first time in a long time. It’s a hard decision to make at the time, but I’m looking forward to opening a new chapter!”

Race Center owner Darren Sciberras explained that with the business’ workload and structure, which includes a heavy involvement with the Yamaha R3 Cup, it’s become increasingly difficult to service new customers. Metcher will take up the role of sales and admin, ensuring the Race Center team is much better equipped to handle enquiries and customer service.

“It’s pretty amazing to be able to have someone with Jed’s experience in this role rather than a standard sales or admin person,” said Sciberras. “We want our customers to have direct access to his knowledge and experience.”

What does this mean for Metcher’s racing career? For 2017 Metcher and Race Center will be working hard to arrange a competitive package for him to remain in Australia, where he can add to the already amazing talent pool in this country and continue his new role at Race Center.