Image: Supplied.

Competing at the Australian MotoGP, the Oceania Junior Cup contested its fourth round of the 2023 season, with overall winner Archie Schmidt and John Pelgrave splitting race wins.

Schmidt delivered a clinical race-one victory after moving to the front on lap three. Once he had clean air he was unstoppable, extending his margin to winning by seven seconds ahead Bodie Paige and Valentino Knezovic.

While the winning margin was higher than usual in the category, the battle for second was hotly contested. Just 1.7 seconds separated Paige from Oscar Lewis in 15th place.

Meanwhile, Hayden Fordyce was fourth from pole-sitter Riley Nauta, who had to recover from last place after running into trouble on lap one. His rapid progress through the field also saw him post the fastest lap of the race. Elijah Andrew was sixth, with Nikolas Lazos and Pelgrave completing the top eight.

Race two, held straight after the Australian MotoGP race on Saturday, was a classic OJC affair as multiple riders took turns at the sharp end of the pack.

But it was Pelgrave – from 17th on the grid – who got his nose in front when it mattered, edging Schmidt by a mere 0.044sec. The next six riders flashed over the line in quick succession, with Paige third from Ella McCausland, Knezovic, Rikki Henry, Fordyce and Jake Paige.

Race three of OJC, originally scheduled for 9:00 (AEST) on Sunday morning, was cancelled to facilitate a rescheduled MotoGP program.

Schmidt took the overall honours, ahead of Pelgrave who edged Paige for second on countback, with Paige remaining at the head of the championship standings following the round, now leading Schmidt by 20 points.

Detailed results