Image: RbMotoLens – Rob Mott Photography

Round four of the 2023 FIM MiniGP Australia series fired into action at Monarto, South Australia, as Levi Russo and Judd Plaisted took the overall wins in the MiniGP 190cc and MiniGP 160cc categories.

From pole position, Russo completed the opening lap of race one in third position behind series leader Cameron Dunker and Bodie Paige, before working his way to the lead as the race approached its second half.

The number 72 extended his advantage out the front to ultimately take a 2.859s win, leading Paige and Dunker, and backed that up with another victory in race two, holding off the number three who finished second in the final outing to secure P2 for the round. Paige completed the podium in race two to land third on the day.

Chinese racer Xuhao (William) Zhang completed his MiniGP Australia Series debut eighth overall in the MiniGP 190cc class.

Dunker continues to lead the championship and holds a 31-point advantage ahead of Harrison Watts who notched a pair of fourths in South Australia. Third in the standings is Russo, a further 16 points back.

Continuing his fine form, Plaisted notched a perfect MiniGP 160cc  scorecard in South Australia to claw back valuable championship points on his rivals.

Image: RbMotoLens – Rob Mott Photography

Plaisted took a 3.662s second victory in the opening encounter, with Ethan Johnson and Rikki Henry featuring in positions two and three. Race two proved to be a much closer finish, with Plaisted edging Jake Paige by just 0.391s as Henry took the checkered flag third, 0.610s from the win.

In terms of the overall results for the round, a 3-3 scorecard saw Henry second behind Plaisted, while Johnson – who was sixth in race two – was third.

Henry leads the championship standings on 151 points, from Paige in second with 139 and Hunter Corney – who remounted from a crash in race two to finish eighth – in third on 128. Paige also suffered a fall, going down in race one and able to rejoin the race and finish P8. Round winner Plaisted is fourth in the standings and 45 points back from the lead.

Of the support classes competing at round four, Tom Bramich emerged on top in the Ohvale GP-2 class, as Matt Watkins won the Veterans category and Olly Simspon took the honours in Supermotard Pro.

Additionally, the bLU cRU SA Junior Cup competed at Monarto, with Archie Schmidt sweeping the round ahead of Lucas Warren and Cooper Pitt.

Detailed results