Image: Russell Colvin.

Australian Joel Kelso has achieved a career-best Moto3 World Championship result with P8 at Phillip Island after a gutsy charge from the fifth row of the grid.

The CIP Green Power rider wasted no time finding his way inside the top 10 from 14th and did what he needed to get away with the leading group.

As the race entered its second half, the front-running quartet broke away but Kelso held his own in the second group which ultimately was a four-way battle for fifth.

“It was an awesome race, we felt strong through the whole race and at the beginning there I thought a podium was on the cards,” Kelso recalled to Fox Sports.

“I was sitting in that group, saving the tyre and I said ‘let’s sit in the group, enjoy, play a little bit and try to save the tyre for the end’ and when I did there was a little gap that opened up.

“I went to the front of the group as soon as possible and started pushing to catch the leaders and matched their lap times for two laps in a row but I just didn’t have enough to close them in so I thought I would save it for the end.

“Happy to come out P8, feeling really strong on the bike, strongest I’ve felt all season and looking forward to bringing this into Malaysia as well.”