Australian Levi Russo secured a sought-after position to compete in the 2023 Idemistu Asia Talent Cup (IATC) at the selection event held at the end of last year, and recently completed his first stint overseas for the pre-season test, plus the opening round of the championship at Sepang. The 15-year-old finished inside the points in both outings at the Malaysian circuit, a 15-13 scorecard providing a platform to build in the upcoming races. Additionally, Russo competes in the FIM MiniGP Australia Series with ambitions to secure a ticket to contest the world finals onboard an Ohvale. He features in this latest Fast Thoughts interview. 

Image: Supplied.

The Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup (IATC) experience so far… 

The Asia Talent Cup is something I’ve always dreamed of, ever since I started racing so to race in it is really good. The test was really good, I learned so much off the people who were working there, like Diego the coach, and we put in some good lap times. It was mixed conditions for the test, so a bit of rain and a bit of dry. It’s a really big eye-opener, the competition over there is really good, there is a whole field of fast riders and it was my first international race, so I think it was a good result for the first time. The first race was really nerve-racking, and I think my slow point was the opening lap, because it is very hard to get into it straight away. I guess it was intense with all of the pressure with the first international race and the whole series itself.

Jumping on the NSF250R used in the IATC… 

It’s fairly similar [to the Moto3 back home], but there are a few things, like an exhaust, a few tweaks to make the bike even better.

Racing on the Sepang International Circuit…

I do train on it on the MotoGP game, but riding it in real life was just crazy. The speeds that you need to run and the feeling was really good. I really enjoyed turn nine to 11, going out of the hairpin up the hill and then braking into turn 11 on an angle. Sometimes it does wheelie in the change of direction.

The next round overseas at Motegi… 

I think at Motegi my goal will be getting into the top 10, and yeah just keep progressing and keep learning.

Image: Supplied.

Most anticipated track on the IATC calendar… 

I think the track that I am most excited for would be Qatar, because I’ve just always enjoyed watching people ride there and stuff. I guess to just ride there in real life would be really surreal.

Having another Australian to compete alongside in the IATC… 

It’s good to have Marianos [Nikolis] there with me, he helped me a lot through the pre-season testing, like giving me a rundown on how stuff is going to work throughout it and the race weekend, it’s good to have him there.

Travelling back to Australia between each round… 

I think we will fly to each round then come back to Australia through most of them. I think Sepang and Qatar at the end of the year, they are back-to-back weeks, so I think we will fly from Sepang to Qatar at the end of the season.

Competing in the MiniGP Australia Series on an Ohvale…

I mean they are really good training for the Moto3, and when you jump back from the Moto3 to the Ohvale it is really good to ride. We will try to get top three in the championship so we can go to Valencia and race there.