IN A SEASON set aside almost entirely for transition, Ted Collins has left his mark as one of motorsport’s most promising up-and-comers.
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The Warrnambool College student finished fifth overall in his first full season on the Australian Superbike Championship circuit, racing in the Supersport B class.
He climbed from a 10th place finish in the first round of competition – on Phillip Island – to cement a markedly improved fifth place effort in the final round in Winton, Queensland.
Prior to this season, Collins had plied his trade with the smaller-scale Moto 3 Grand Prix.
The 17-year-old said the transition into racing in the Supersport category had been a massive step up from racing in the Moto 3 division.
“The bikes (in Supersport) are twice as powerful and three times as heavy,” he told The Standard.
“I think the top speed I reached was about 260 kilometres per hour.
“Supersport as a whole is just 10 times more competitive than Moto 3. It’s just that step up. I think there was 15 starters in Moto 3 last year and there were 43 in Supersport this year. It’s a bigger stage with more competition.”
Collins was pleased with his efforts and results, but said he was quickly turning his focus to next season, which begins in February.
He and his father, John, travelled as far as Winton, Sydney, Warwick and Perth to boost his credentials in his first season on the national circuit.
Collins said while he often travelled via air to different circuits, his father would arrive via road with his bike in tow.
“We went into the last races tied on points for fifth, so fifth place in the championship was out of me or another rider. I ended up beating him on the last race so that was nice,” he said.
“Every time I’m doing it, I’m going better and seeing the improvement is what I like. “Hopefully next year we’ll be at the front. This year our goal was top ten, and we sort of halved that so next year our goal is probably to win it.
“We were thinking if we can be somewhere near the front next season or to go one better that would be awesome.”
The Next Gen Motorsport rider’s best effort of the season incidentally came at a track furthest from his home in East Warrnambool.
Collins clocked 15:41.40 from 16 laps at the Barbagallo Raceway, which is 50km north of Perth on Australia’s west coast. He was the third highest B grade rider in the event to place, with his fastest lap coming in at a flying 58.28.
Collins also competed in the New Zealand Superbike Championships at the start of the year where he finished ninth overall in the Supersport 600 class.
