Interview: Tom Toparis from nowhere to Moto3 in 2 years

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Tom Toparis has come an awful way in a short time.

That was the first observation that RacerViews’ Leonard Smith put to Toparis who is making his Moto3 debut this weekend as a wild card rider at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit.

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In fact as Toparis describes in the audio interview below, “This weeks marks two years since I went to a motorcycle meeting.” Since then, he has come a long way.

The 17 year old has been racing for Cube Racing in the Australian Supersport Championship. They have combined to race a KTM Moto3 at Phillip Island and in Motegi.

Last weekend in Japan it rained all weekend and and this weekend, it has been extremely challenging with strong winds and rain hampering conditions. The conditions are not foreign to Phillip Island and Toparis has made it to the grid.

The journey to get there saw him compete successfully in the Supersport Championship, taking third in the Championship with a win in round two and a further exceptional performance at Hidden Valley.

It was enough to convince Motorcycle Australia to back him for the Wild Card entry at Phillip Island.

In a media release, Riki Lanyon from Leda Nutrition, who will back the Moto3 appearances, described why Toparis was chosen; “Toparis is very adaptable to whatever he sets his eyes on. He is a natural competitor, a thinker and is driven. This is only his second full season of racing and it’s going to be fascinating to see how his career unfolds over the next few years.

“At the moment; we are planning for Toparis to race on a Kalex KTM from Kiefer Racing that previously raced in Moto3,” according to Lanyon. “The bike is several years old, but should be very competitive based upon its previous results at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

“We are all very excited for Toparis and we can’t wait to watch him develop and race against the world’s best at Motegi and the Michelin® Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix 2017!” Lanyon finished.

Listen to the interview here. Recorded in the garage, there are times you may have to listen harder than normal, but very much worth the effort.

The RacerViews info

Interview by Leonard Smith, article by Sam Tickell, October 2017

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