Source: Supplied.

Team Lorini Honda rider Aiden Wagner experienced a turbulent opening round of the 2017 World Supersport Championship at Phillip Island, but ultimately landed seventh in Sunday’s race.

It was the best result of 22-year-old Wagner’s short WorldSSP career, beginning to realise his potential on the world stage aboard the CBR600RR.

Wagner’s finest rides have always come at home – finishing 13th as a wildcard in 2015 and 10th in 2016 – and he managed to overcome a clutch problem for this year’s result.

“It was a really great race,” the highly-rated Wagner reflected. “We made a mistake in the first part of the race, where I fried the clutch right off the line and with the red flag that came out soon after, there was no time to change it.

“At the restart, I just had to baby it off the line and nurse it the whole way around. I’m really looking forward to returning to Thailand for the next round as it’s I track I enjoy. I know the areas I can improve on and where to pick up time.”

With veteran wildcard Anthony West rallying to third on the podium, Wagner was second-best performing Aussie in the field, also joined inside the top 10 by Lachlan Epis (Response RE Kawasaki).