2023 FIM MINIGP AUSTRALIA SERIES

Words & Photos: Russell Colvin

The second season of the FIM MiniGP Australia Series went down to the fifth and final round, held at Oakleigh Go-Kart Track in late September. Harrison Watts, last year’s inaugural champion, was back, but had plenty of competition, as well as a new class to adapt to.

REPORT – 2023 FIM MiniGP Australia Series

MiniGP Australia Series organisers expanded the championship this year, adding a 190cc category to the existing 160cc category. The reason was to include those riders who have already excelled in the 160 class, but are not yet old enough to qualify for other Road to MotoGP propgrammes.

The two classes for 2023 were badged as MiniGP 160 and MiniGP 190. The former uses 160cc bikes with 10-inch wheels and is limited to juniors 10-14 years old – unchanged from last year. The new category ups bike capacity to 190cc and wheel size to 12 inches, with an age limit of 12 to 16 years.

Bikes in both classes are supplied by Ohvale Australia and are of identical spec, ensuring a level playing field. Engines are sealed and technical regulations are in place for the same reason. The MiniGP 190 bikes have a slightly enhanced tech spec, with MUPO suspension and a slipper clutch that the 160cc bikes don’t get. A quickshifter is allowed in the MiniGP 190 category, too.

Pirelli tyres are standard, but only two sets are allowed per round, ensuring riders learn the value of tyre management.

The Road to the Finale

As with the inaugural season, all five rounds of this year’s MiniGP Australia Series were held on Go-Kart tracks, with two free practise and two qualifying sessions for each class to determine the grid followed by two races for each class per round.

The carrot for riders in the series is the chance to race at the FIM MiniGP World Series in Spain. At the end of the season, the top two riders in MiniGP 160 and the top three in MiniGP 190 will be invited to compete against the world’s best junior road racers.

The 2023 season kicked off in Port Melbourne, then moved to Cameron Park in NSW, Ipswich in Queensland, then Monarto in SA before coming back to Victoria for the final round at Oakleigh.

At the season opener in March, Queensland’s Jake Paige took both race wins in MiniGP 160, with Rikki Henry and polesitter Isaac Ayad finishing second and third for the round. In the 190cc class, Cameron Dunker (last year’s Australian Supersport 300 and YMF R3 Cup champion) clinched the round win with 2-1 results from Harrison Watts (1-2) after a countback. Hudson Thompson was third overall, while Levi Russo, who took pole, finished the round in seventh after an incident with Dunker in race one and a crash in race two.

Round 2 saw Henry win both 160cc races, ahead of Queenslanders Hunter Corney and Jake Paige on each occasion. That elevated him to the MiniGP 160 championship lead ahead of Paige. In MiniGP 190, Dunker was the round winner again, despite a fifth place in race one that was won by Watts.

At Round 3, Plaisted recorded his first MiniGP 160 race and round win, but Henry retained the overall lead. In MiniGP 190, Dunker notched two wins to extend his series lead over Watts, while Russo was left to rue a DNF in race one that left him in sixth overall.

The penultimate round saw Plaisted take his second 160cc round win, but consistency was Henry’s ally. Despite winning only one round to this point, the 14-year-old from Adelaide took a 12-point lead into the MiniGP 160 series finale. Four riders were in with a chance, but realistically, the title would be a battle between Henry, Paige and Corney.

Russo bounced back in Round 4 with two wins in the 190cc class, moving up to third in the championship, but two podium finishes for Dunker meant he had a comfortable 31-point advantage over Watts going into the final round.

The Final – MiniGP 160

If Henry had nerves in the final round, they weren’t evident. The teenager took pole by almost half a second from Corney, with NSW’s Jed Fyffe completing the front row of the grid. The second row was led by Jackson MacDonald, then Plaisted and Paige. In a reflection of how the standard has increased this year, most of the 160cc grid eclipsed the previous qualifying record set by Watts in 2022.

The opening 20-lap race was red flagged when Cooper Horne crashed out. On the restart, Corney took the lead on the opening lap, going on to beat Henry by .164s. Plaisted finished third and also posted a new race lap record of 44.784s; .866s faster than Watts’s best from 2022.

With Paige coming home in fourth, his 13 points to Henry’s 20 wasn’t enough to prevent the latter wrapping up the championship.

“I’ve got a lot of mixed emotions right now,” the 14-year-old said. “I’m just so happy to have won the championship, and now even more excited, knowing I get to go to Valencia to race against the world’s best in November. It’s something I’ll remember for a long time, that’s for sure.”

Henry went on to win the second race, finishing .546s ahead of Paige to take his second round win for the season. Plaisted crashed out of race two while in third place, elevating Corney to the final podium spot and second for the round, ahead of Paige.

Ultimately, Henry won the title by 24 points from Paige, but both juniors will be going to the MiniGP World Series. Corney missed out on a trip to Valencia by just three points.

2023 MiniGP Australia Series Championship - 160cc

1. Rikki Henry - 196

2. Jake Paige - 172

3. Hunter Corney - 169

4. Judd Plaisted - 129

5. Isaac Ayad - 117

The Final – MiniGP 190

Dunker’s 31-point advantage over Evolution Sports Group’s Watts meant the 15-year-old could just finish race one and the title would essentially be his with a race to spare.

Starting from pole position (his third for the season), Dunker guided the #3 Livson Racing Ohvale 190cc machine to a 4.696s victory over Russo in race one. Although he qualified on the front row, Russo had a poor start, completing the opening lap in seventh place. He then charged back to battle with Paige, ultimately beating the Queenslander to second place by .182s. Watts and Hudson Thompson completed the top five.

“I’m super happy to have won the championship,” Dunker told JUST BIKES at the completion of race one.

“It’s been a pretty good year all round with some great results along the way, so it’s nice to have won the title with a race to spare. We can now just go out and have some fun in the final race.

“All in all, it’s great to reward Nathan Spiteri, Jake Skate and Tom Morton for the efforts they have put in this year.”

In race two, Russo took the win (his third of the season) as well as the round victory. Paige was second in race two, finishing .426s behind Russo, with Dunker third. However, the new 190cc champ was lucky to finish at all after he missed a gear while aiming to set a new lap record and had a big moment.

As with Henry, consistency worked in Dunker’s favour, being the only rider to finish on the overall podium at every round.

In terms of the championship, Dunker’s final tally was 208 points, 43 clear of Russo, who went into the final round 16 points behind Watts, but managed to come out three points ahead.

Dunker, Russo and Watts have all earned a ticket to the MiniGP World Series, which races at the Karting Valencia Luis Climent circuit on the final weekend in November – the same weekend as the final round of the MotoGP World Championship.