AT1 Racing start with a bang at Australasian Superbike Championships opening rounds

AT1 Racing, the brainchild of Engadine’s Dominic De Leon, made their debut at the Australasian Superbike Championships at Sydney Motorsport Park last month which included the opening two rounds of the Swann Super Series.

AT1’s Lucus Vitale took out the superbike class, an amazing achievement given it was Vitale’s debut ride on his Kawasaki ZX10R. He is now the overall leader of the championship heading into round three.

De Leon also competed in the superbike class, finishing fifth overall and first in B-grade. The results were a testament to how far he has come since the off-season, considering his times from last year would have had him in the middle of the pack.

Damian Sutton won the Formula OZ class, making the most of perfect weather to lay down some impressive times.

Ryan Sellen finished sixth in the 600cc Supersport and fifth in the 400cc Supersport classes. It was a brave effort from Sellen, who completed 12 physically demanding races of the weekend on his two bikes. 

It was an outstanding start for AT1 who have been brought to life by De Leon, who has raced and produced AT1 Pro race suits for a number of years.

De Leon, who won the Formula Extreme C&D class in last year’s Australasian Superbike Championships and took out the highly-coveted Stars of Tomorrow title, orchestrated the team’s birth from his garage while working on his racing bikes.

Former world championship rider Stuart Hablethwaite has come on board as the team’s manager. Hablethwaite is an experienced rider who raced a full factory Kawasaki superbike in the Australian Superbike Championships and was a wildcard for the world championships in 1995 and 1996.

His experience has already proved vital for the four-man team.

Rounds three and four of the championships will be held at the Queensland Raceway from July 14 to 16.

The final rounds five and six will return to Sydney Motorsport Park from November 3 to 5.