Schmidt and Pelgrave OJC winners at Phillip Island MotoGP

ASBK 2023

bLUcRU Oceania Junior Cup with MotoGP

The bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup was the sole support class at this year’s Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

The next wave of road racing stars put on a rousing show for the massive crowd, with Schmidt running away with the spoils in the opening seven-lap race before normal nail-biting service was resumed in the second where Pelgrave outlasted his opponents in a sensational run to the finish line on the identical Yamaha YZF-R15s.

The 20 OJC riders will do it all again this coming weekend when they return to Phillip Island for the penultimate round of the 2023 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul, October 27-29.

bLUcRU Oceania Junior Cup Qualifying

Riley Nauta joined siblings Jake and Bodie Paige on the front row of the grid at this weekend’s three bLU cRU Oceania Cup races at the 2023 Guru by Gryfyn Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

Nauta was the big improver in the afternoon’s 20-minute qualifying session, improving 10 positions from his practice result as he extracted every ounce of horsepower out of his Yamaha YZF-R15 around the 4.448km Phillip Island circuit.

The outcome was record-setting, with his pole time of 2m09.9115sec a new best lap for the OJC class at Philip Island, as well as eclipsing the current lap record (2:09.581) held by New South Welshman Valentino Knezovic.

Knezovic (2:09.884) was fourth in qualifying behind Jake Paige (2:09.273) and runaway championship leader Bodie Paige (2:09.778), who has won five of the nine OJC races this year as part of the 2023 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul.

The second row for the three seven-lap races will be completed by Archie Schmidt (2:09.938) and Oscar Lewis (2:09.999), who was the last rider in the nine-second qualifying bracket by the barest of margins.

bLUcRU Oceania Junior Cup Qualifying Results

bLUcRU Oceania Junior Cup Race One

Schmidt’s second victory of the season in race one was clinical after moving to the front on lap three. Once he had clean air he was unstoppable, winning by seven seconds ahead of front-row starter Paige and lap record holder Valentino Knezovic.

While the winning margin was incongruous in a class where victories are normally measured in fractions of seconds, the battle for second was intense. Just 1.7sec separated Paige from Oscar Lewis in 15th place, with a forensic examination even required of the photo finish images to clarify the results!

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Meanwhile, Fordyce was fourth from pole-sitter Riley Nauta, who had to perform a rescue mission from last place after running into trouble on lap one. His rapid ascension through the pack was rewarded with the fastest lap of the race.

Elijah Andrew was sixth, with Nikolas Lazos and Pelgrave completing the top eight.

bLUcRU Oceania Junior Cup Race One Results

bLUcRU Oceania Junior Cup Race Two

Race two, held straight after Johann Zarco’s rousing MotoGP victory, was 15 minutes of constant attacking and counter-punching – classic OJC fare – as multiple riders took turns at the sharp end of the pack.

But it was Pelgrave who got his nose in front when it mattered, defeating Schmidt by a scant 0.044sec. The next six riders flashed over the line in quick succession, with Paige third from Ella McCausland, Knezovic, Rikki Henry, Fordyce and Jake Paige.

Race three of OJC, originally scheduled for 9:00 (AEST) on Sunday morning, was cancelled to facilitate a rescheduled MotoGP program.

bLUcRU Oceania Junior Cup Race Two Results

bLUcRU Oceania Junior Cup Round Points

bLUcRU Oceania Junior Cup Championship Standings

2023 ASBK Calendar