MITCH PIROTTA / TWOTHREE PR:

On Two Wheels Motorsports rider Mitch Pirotta made a superb debut appearance in the Australian Supersport Championship at the Australian round of the MotoGP World Championship last weekend, finishing ninth overall at the picturesque Phillip Island Circuit.

Competing in front of the best teams from around the world, Pirotta contested the Supersport category for the first time in his career since his regular Superstock 600 class wasn’t staged at the MotoGP event, giving Pirotta the opportunity to test the Waters in the highly competitive Supersport arena.

Pirotta didn’t disappoint on debut, slotting his Yamaha YZF-R6 in eighth position on the grid following Friday’s lone qualifying session before going on to take ninth overall for the weekend in the championship point-scoring races.

In the championship races, Pirotta finished eighth in race one of the weekend, before going on to take ninth in the final outing after a spectacular race-long battle with his more experienced opponents in his first Supersport event.

Pirotta also scored a best race lap of 1:37.349sec in that final leg of the weekend as he continued to find the limits of the up-spec Supersport machine and tyres compared to his regular Superstock mount, enjoying the challenge of competing against the country’s best 600cc competitors amongst a number of factory teams – capping off his weekend with fifth in the Privateer Cup standings..

Next month’s final ASBK round at Phillip Island on 27-29 November will see Pirotta return to Superstock 600 duties, maintaining a mathematical chance of taking out the championship after a consistent season to date.

Mitch Pirotta – Supersport #29
Qualifying eighth to be on the second row in my first Supersport event was a great feeling and something that I wasn’t really expecting. I was planning on going out and trying my hardest, so when I got that result it gave me confidence for the rest of the weekend and I was really happy to be able to finish ninth overall for the round. The weekend started off well despite wet weather in practice, but the tyres we are able to use in Supersport are completely different, it’s really a whole new ball game and took me a while to build my confidence. The racing was close and I really enjoyed it, it was a fun weekend for me. Everybody’s a bit more experienced in Supersport and it was a great event to learn from. The competition was great – nobody gives an inch – so it was good to see how we went as we were basically trying to see how I would go in with the Supersport guys since Superstock 600 wasn’t held on the weekend. I would like to take this opportunity to thank some of the team’s sponsors: On Two Wheels Motorsports, Yamaha Australia, Terry Hay of Shock Treatment, Dunlop Tyres, RST Leathers, KBC Helmets, Motul Oils, Swann Insurance, Alpinestars Boots, RK Chains, Jones XL, Ferodo Brake Pads and JT Sprockets. Most of all I like to express my sincere gratitude and love to my finance Courtney, my family and all the fans who keep cheering me forward.