Narooma High School student Reid Battye has enjoyed the chance to strut his stuff on the world stage.
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Reid, was the winner of the ‘up-to’ 300cc class of the Australian Superbike Series with one round spare and was invited as a wild card entry by Kawasaki’s Italian troupe to compete in the final round of the World Supersport 300 series.
The race was held in Jerez, Spain, over the weekend, where Reid finished with strong middle-ground results on a circuit he’s never ridden.
“I’ve actually been playing on my Xbox to try and learn the circuit,” Reid said with a laugh ahead of the weekend.
“It doesn’t get much better than Jerez for atmosphere and racing,” he said.
Practice proved valuable for the youngster, but a couple of offs and some clutch issues hampered his preparations.
Reid said it was a “disappointing qualifying” after crashing out on lap three before setting a “solid time”.
Clutch problems also kept the team from having a true crack at the front-runners.
“I had a clutch failure and this made it impossible to improve my time and position,” he said.
Despite the setbacks, Reid still impressed the local team runners with team bosses pictured with the young gun at a preparation dinner.
“I have been impressed with his preparation despite a few difficulties,” Greg Farrell said on social media.
One of Reids results included a qualifying time in 22nd, which he said was “not too bad given a new track and new bike”, it was also just two seconds off the top results against people who race the course regularly.
The event bike was the same make as the one Reid races for the Kawasaki BC Performance team in the domestic series, but it was a European tuned machine fettled by the Italian arm of the team.
“My first world championship race was crazy,” Reid beamed. “Although the position I finished in is not what I wanted at all, it was a great experience.”
As one of the quickest racers on the domestic circuit, it proved a challenge to contend with the big pack jostling for position.
“It really stuffed me up starting so far back because it was really hard to go forward when all the other riders are trying to battle with you.”
Despite the challenge, the Bermagui racer still bested some regulars on the International circuit, making up two places to finish 25th.
Reid said he was incredibly grateful for the chance and opportunity to compete in the World Series event.
He thanked his parents for all their efforts and also thanked support from home.
“Every message and comment i see means a lot to me,” he said.