The Australian Supersport charge of promising 600 rookie Hayden Nelson will be boosted as he joins 666 Racing with Stop & Seal ahead of the remaining two rounds in this year’s Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK).

Nelson, 16, has made solid progress in his first year on board the R6, landing on the overall podium under the lights at Sydney and qualifying fastest last time out at Morgan Park.

Unfortunately, Nelson’s charge at ASBK round five was brought to a premature end when he crashed at turn nine due to oil on the track in race one, and with only one bike at the time, despite the best efforts of those around him, he was unable to make the grid for the second outing.

“It was a tough weekend for us at Morgan Park,” said Nelson. “We’ve spent the season so far struggling a little with setup on our R6, and finally felt like we made some steps forward, but my crash ended that with the bike not being repairable at the track.

“So, to get a call from Ben Henry a few weeks later, and then to meet with him and Robbie with an offer to ride a Stop & Seal R6 has been pretty incredible, to be honest.

“It feels great to know that the bigger teams in the championship are paying attention to the other classes, and for us, it’s a great opportunity that I’m both grateful and excited for, and I know mum and dad feel that same way. I’ve seen the bike I’ll be riding and I can’t wait to get on track to test it with the team.”

Nelson will step aboard a Stop & Seal Racing R6 for the remainder of the season, prepared by Cube Performance Centre – the base of the DesmoSport Ducati team.

He has been seen testing the bike at recent club and state level events at Morgan Park and Phillip Island, as round six of the 2023 ASBK Championship takes place at the latter between 27-29 October.

Stop & Seal’s Robbie Bolger added: “It’s no secret that I’m passionate about bikes. I love racing. MotoGP, Isle of Man and more recently, the ASBK. As I’ve gotten to know Ben, and Ben has gotten to know me, it’s pretty clear that we have some goals that align.

“We both want to see young riders succeed both here in Australia and overseas, and by working together we can build a program that does exactly that in the ASBK. We recently met with Hayden and Craig Nelson at Cube Performance Centre where the team will be based, he is a great young kid and has shown plenty of potential but a lack of resources, having just the one race bike, has held him back this season.

“This was highlighted at Morgan Park where his fast crash challenging for the lead destroyed his bike and put him out for the weekend. Hayden and his family are a great fit for 666 Racing with Stop & Seal and I’m looking forward to helping them finish the 2023 season.”