Image: Octopi Media.

Double Australian Supersport champion Tom Toparis is planning a return to domestic Superbike competition this season, following a year-long hiatus due to a major operation on his right arm.

Toparis, 21, elected to undergo a required humerus bone operation in March last year to correct growth arrest, the right side being 76mm longer than the left.

That injury initially occurred when Toparis was 11 during a motocross crash, where he broke his right humorous bone and shoulder, requiring surgery.

A procedure was originally deemed successful until Toparis later hit a growth spurt and discovered that his right arm was becoming increasingly longer than the left, causing increasing discomfort while riding.

Following a heavily-disrupted 2020 ASBK season due to coronavirus and restrictions on international travel at the time, Toparis and his family deemed the beginning of last year the best time to take the surgery to mitigate racing opportunities missed.

“For sure, it’s been sort of a weird little time, having not ridden for a year – doing it every weekend for five or six years and then having a year completely off of motorbikes in general,” Toparis told CycleOnline at Phillip Island on the weekend.

“The operation that I have had, I had to do it, and when the opportunity came up to get it done my parents and I were talking about the whole covid thing. It was still shakey at the time when we decided and I am glad that we did because I didn’t miss much last year really, with such an interrupted season.

“I’m on the other side of it now, probably about three or four weeks off actually riding a bike again. Be good to get on my 600 from two years ago and go and go some ride days, just get back into it, I got some tyres sent down a couple of weeks ago so good to go.”

On top of his domestic Supersport success, Toparis also achieved podium finishes internationally in the German-based IDM and British Supersport series’, looking to return to the latter if the opportunity arises later this year after competing domestically on a Superbike.

“Once I feel like I’m good on a 600 again I’d love to jump on a Superbike and do some racing here in Australia would be ideal, to start the season anyway,” Toparis added. “I don’t know if I would be able to afford to put the remainder of the season together.

“It would be good to do some racing here, then go back to England towards the end of the year, even if it is a couple of replacement rides in BSB Supersport, that’s where I kind of what to be.”