Image: Supplied,

A top 10 result for Jacob Roulstone in his Moto3 World Championship debut at Qatar on the weekend has showcased his promise on the global stage, the talented Australian making an impressive start to his grand prix career.

The teenager, who contested the Red Bull MotoGP Rookie Cup and FIM JuniorGP World Championship last year to earn a ride with Red Bull GasGas Tech3, qualified 17th under the lights of the Lusail International Circuit, putting on a strong charge in the 16-lap race to cross the line P10 amongst an ultra-competitive field.

“Very happy to finish 10th in the first race,” Roulstone stated. “I didn’t have the best first lap but after that I just worked on getting to the front of the second group.

“I couldn’t quite latch onto the first one but I felt good with the pace. I got to the end of my first race with some good points and that was the most important thing today.”

Fellow Australian Moto3 entry Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsports) finished eighth, as Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) was 17th to kick start his first full-time Moto2 campaign. It was a weekend to forget for Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) in MotoGP, crashing out of the race while his teammate Brad Binder was second on the podium.

The MotoGP paddock now heads to Portugal on 22-24 March for the second stop of the series.