Gobert had a solid weekend for sixth overall in Darwin last weekend. Image: Keith Muir.

Gobert Motorsports rider Aaron Gobert claimed sixth overall at the second round of the 2010 InsureMyRide Australian Supersport Championship at Hidden Valley in the Northern Territory last weekend, marking a massive improvement following a disappointing season opener at Phillip Island in February.

After returning to Australian competition after nine seasons in the United States, Gobert was a big improver at the second round of this year’s title chase in Darwin, racing to sixth overall via 4-8 results and boosting himself to sixth in the championship standings.

“All in all we finished up with a good weekend at Hidden Valley,” Gobert reflected today. “Things came together at the last minute before the Phillip Island season opener, so after that round we had a good idea of what we needed to change for round two and it worked well.”

Gobert qualified sixth on the grid in the hot and humid weather that greeted the ASBK series in the Top End, his 1:11.890 slotting him in for a second row start in the 20-rider Supersport field.

Come race time, the 29-year-old put in an impressive performance, battling through the field on the opening lap to put himself in a battle for the podium throughout the opening 17-lap race of the weekend.

Gobert eventually crossed the line fourth, narrowly missing his first race podium of the season, however drastically improving his result from the Phillip Island season opener back in February.

“I feel that racing at the pointy end of the field is where I belong, so it was good to do that in race one last weekend and we should only get stronger from this point on,” he continued.

The opening race of the weekend also saw Gobert post his fastest lap of the round, his 1:11.223 coming on lap five of the race.

Race two saw Yamaha YZF-R6-mounted rider Gobert off to a slow start, working hard to move into sixth position before losing two places in the closing stages of the race and crossing the finish line in eighth after the reduced 14-lap outing.

It was a positive round for Gobert and the Gobert Motorsports team, continuing to develop the privateer R6 and gaining three positions in the championship hunt as the series now moves on to Queensland Raceway, near Ipswich in Queensland, on 3-6 June.

“The results at Hidden Valley were strong and I’m looking forward to continuing to progress at Queensland Raceway’s third round,” he explained. “Hidden Valley was a great addition to the calendar, I had a lot of fun there and it was a great facility with a technical track layout – I’m definitely looking forward to going back up there in the future.”

The ASBK series will now head to Queensland Raceway on 3-6 June, where Team Suzuki’s Troy Herfoss will lead the Supersport showdown into the round.