Image: Supplied.

Australia’s Joel Kelso added more points to his 2022 Moto3 World Championship tally in Thailand, notching P12 after a positive weekend at the Chang International Circuit and enters his home race at Phillip Island in a good way.

Since returning from injury in Austria it had been a challenging run for Kelso, despite scoring two points at Misano as he charged through the field to finish P14.

The CIP Green Power rider entered round 17 off the back of an opening lap crash in Japan and showed he was eager to turn his fortunes around by transferring directly to qualifying two at the conclusion of the free practice sessions. Posting a 1m43.129s, Kelso secured 12th on the grid for Sunday’s 22-lap outing, just over a second shy of pole-setter Dennis Foggia.

Despite losing contact with the leading group in the race, Kelso emerged on top of a multi-rider battle for 12th position and scored his best finishing result since Catalunya in June.

“Overall I’m really happy with the way everything went this weekend,” Kelso reflected post-race. “Unfortunately, there was a little collision on the first lap and we lost contact with the leading group. But, I showed a very good pace.

“Everything is positive, and we will prepare for my race at home, in Australia. I’m really looking forward to it. Let’s make it a special one.”

Despite having domestic Moto3 championship experience at the Phillip Island Circuit, 2022 will mark the first time Kelso has raced there on the world stage as his rookie season continues in less than two weeks at the Australian GP.