Image: Supplied.

Young Australian Billy Van Eerde now leads the 2018 Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup following a pair of podiums including the race two victory at Sepang, Malaysia, over the weekend.

Contested alongside the Malaysia Superbike Championship, Van Eerde was second position in the mixed conditions of race one, just 0.246s behind Indonesian Mario Aji across the line.

Sunday’s second encounter saw Van Eerde edge to a deserved win ahead of Sho Nishimura and former points leader Haruki Noguchi – the trio separated by just 0.114s at race’s end.

Those results were enough for Van Eerde to claim the points lead following three of six rounds, now four points clear of Japanese standout Noguchi, who crashed out of race one on the weekend.

Detailed results