Levy’s Tough Top End Run

Facing adversity during last weekend’s fourth 2018 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK) round at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway in the Northern Territory, Mitch Levy was lucky to finish the round after a high-speed crash during practice forced him to resort to his back-up bike for the remainder of the weekend.

While it certainly wasn’t the result Levy was hoping for, the privateer Yamaha rider did well to bounce back and record some competitive results following a crash that could have ended his round four campaign during practice.

Levy had looked likely to challenge for a top-10 result during the weekend after recording an encouraging 11th-fastest lap during his first practice session, but immediately reverted to the back foot when his team was forced to turn to his back-up bike for the remainder of practice session two. Thankfully unharmed in the crash, Levy was able to return to the track to record the 15th-fastest lap.

“We were feeling quite confident after our first practice session that we would be able to challenge for a top-10 result throughout the weekend, but unfortunately the crash in our second practice session meant that we had to start from scratch with setup on our second bike,” the 23-year-old racer explained.

“In saying that, it could have been much worse. I think we did what we could with our second bike in the time we had and we managed to bounce back slightly in race one. Overall, we’ll take what we can from last weekend and hope to learn from it and improve in round five.”

Returning to the track on Saturday after placing 16th in Friday’s final practice session, Levy ended up 15th and 17th in his two qualifying sessions respectively, while his team continued to work on his bike’s setup ahead of Sunday’s races.

Showing great resolve in race one, a determined Levy put the rest of the weekend’s challenges behind him, managing to come home in a competitive 13th, before closing his round four campaign with a 16th-place finish in race two.

Currently sitting 15th in the points, the Dural, NSW-based rider will now take a break before contesting the fifth 2018 Australian Superbike Championship round at Morgan Park Raceway in Queensland from August 17-19.

Levy would like to thank the following 2018 season sponsors for their continued support: ATR, Greg & Nadene Seisun, Manshed Auctions, Adam Gorrell Automotive, Race Center, Advanced Group, Held Australia, YRD, Wales Truck & Bus Repairs, Central Air Conditioning, Diacore, A1 Rubber, Airoh Helmets, Cut & Core, and Beta Tools.

To find out more about Levy and his team, visit their brand-new website www.mitchlevyracing.com or LIKE them on Facebook by searching Mitch Levy #68.

2018 Australian Superbike Championship Schedule:

 

August 17-19

Round 5 – Morgan Park Raceway (Qld)

 

September 7-9

Round 6 – Winton Motor Raceway (Vic)

 

October 12-14

Round 7 (Final) – Phillip Island Circuit (Vic)

 

-ENDS-