Australia’s Ben Currie made the transition to the World Supersport Championship (WorldSSP) for 2022 following success in the British Superbikes (BSB) paddock. The multi-time BSB Supersport race winner has had it far from easy going this year and was forced to miss all of pre-season testing and the opening two rounds of the series while recovering from severe injuries sustained in a motocross training crash. CycleOnline caught up with the Motozoo Racing Team rider to get his Fast Thoughts as he continues to build and adapt to the world championship.

Image: Supplied.

Highlights of your debut WorldSSP season to date…

Estoril in the warm-up, I was P2 for most of the session and I ended up P5 in the wet. I had a glimpse of riding around with good guys, good names. It gave me hope that I still remember how to ride a bike. Then obviously the Donington Park round was good in that I knew the track, but I struggled all weekend with the feeling and a bit of fitness. I charged through the pack from 26th on the grid to like 12th, I passed that many riders and some of the guys I was battling with, I was like jeez this is a good race. Unfortunately, I had to pull out, but that was probably one of the highlights and it was a good reminder that I can do it, and I will be able to do it, I just need to get things in line and then we are there.

Learning curves in making the transition to the world championship…

Working with a new team, new environment, Italian speaking team so trying to understand the communication side of things and trying to communicate in between sessions and during sessions to get the most from my bike and myself. Also learning the tracks because they are all new tracks for me. They are probably the big learning curves. I have ridden the Kawasaki, I know the bike, but those finer details, just trying to work with the team and learning the new tracks I would say is the most difficult thing really in stepping into the world championship.

Differences between WorldSSP spec and BSB spec ZX-6R…

I mean a Kawasaki is a Kawasaki, the engine spec is a little bit different, you’ve got a different gearbox, electronics are different, the suspension brand is different and tyres are different also. I have never ridden on these tyres before. When you think about it there is a lot that is different to the BSB bike, including what I just listed, but it’s more just trying to get my head around all of the little things and what suits me best really.

Image: Supplied.

The driving factors behind the move to the WorldSBK paddock… 

I was pretty comfortable in the BSB paddock, doing what I was doing, things were going great and I was pretty well established there contending for titles every year. Obviously, I had that go in SBK which was good, but I hurt myself quite badly and didn’t get a second go at it. Really, I was 26 at the start of the year and I had to think about what I wanted to do in the future. I have always wanted to race in the world championship and I had another opportunity to do it, so this time I didn’t want to turn it down. I want to pursue my dream of trying to contend for world championships and to be able to race in Australia, at Phillip Island, that sort of thing. There were a lot of factors and I am getting to that point in my career that if I don’t do it, I’m never going to do it, and I didn’t want to keep doing the same thing, I wanted to keep pushing for more. It’s about taking on a new step really, a new journey to trying and further my career elsewhere.

Impacts of the injuries at the start of the season… 

I don’t need any more motivation really, I’ve got a fair bit of it, but it affected me mentally in the sense that I didn’t get to test or do the first couple of rounds. It was tough because that was the time I wanted to be working on stuff and it’s sort of coming to a bit of a crossroad at the moment, where I want to try some things and do some things to find something, but I haven’t got the time to do it in race weekends. We are taking some risks and gambles, but also I am trying to fight and come back fit and strong on the bike, and ride like I know I can. Mentally, I was alright, I’m up for it, but as time goes on, it wears you down a little bit because I’m not where I know I can be, or where I want to be. It is quite a challenge really, first year in the world championship to miss all of the pre-season and to miss the first couple of rounds. I came into the championship when it was well underway with a crazy stacked field, which is really quite hard.

A guest appearance for the ASBK finale at The Bend… 

I’m always interested in doing stuff, riding and racing bikes is what I love to do, so I would always be interested. If it was all right, and an opportunity came about then for sure I would be interested in doing it. It looks like a good event and something that is building traction. Last year, like you said there was Jack Miller at that race.