Image: Supplied.

Australian rising talent Billy Van Eerde was sixth on the time-sheets in his first appearance as an Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup rider during the opening pre-season test at Sepang, Malaysia, this week.

Led by Haruki Noguchi – after narrowly missing out on the crown last year – with a 2m16.941s on Tuesday, current national Over 300 champion Van Eerde impressed at 2m18.812s as he adapts to the Honda NSF250R Moto3 machine.

Talent Cup director and Repsol Honda team manager Alberto Puig was in attendance to observe the early stages of 2018 development, which also saw Senna Agius P13 after posting a 2m19.447s, while Benjamin Baker lodged a 2m22.250s for 19th position.

The 2018 Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup season is scheduled to get underway at Losail Internation Circuit in Qatar on the 16-17 March, alongside the opening round of the MotoGP World Championship.