Toparis to Race with Stop & Seal Racing
With the Bristish Superbike Championship coming to an end on October 15, two-time Australian Supersport champion Tom Toparis will return to Australia, and the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) aboard a 666 Racing Stop & Seal YZF-R6, alongside Hayden Nelson for the remainder of the 2023 season at both Phillip Island and The Bend.
The team have also prepared a Superbike for Tom, but as he lands a week before the next ASBK round at Phillip Island, he will not have an opportunity to test on the Superbike before that round, thus the intention to first step back onto Aussie tarmac on the Supersport machine.
However, at The Bend ASBK finale Tom is planning to ride the Superbike, and potentially may ride both classes to round out the year.
Tom Toparis
“It feels like forever since I’ve raced at home. After I won my last SuperSport championship, there’s been a lot happen, with surgeries and racing in Europe and the UK, so to go to the track purely to just to have fun, see some familiar faces and help out the team a little with some setup, I’m really looking forward to the opportunity.”
Stop & Seal’s Robbie Bolger
“I’m looking forward to having Tom join the team for the remainder of the 2023 season. We met with Tom in the UK several weeks ago during a trip to meet with the Stop & Seal UK team and we instantly hit it off. Ben (Henry) has been building another bike for the 2024 season so the decision was quickly made to have Tom jump on board, get some laps in at home and add an experienced rider in next to Hayden (Nelson) to increase the data from the track and help both riders succeed.”
Cube Performance Centre’s Ben Henry
“I’m looking forward to seeing Tom in the garage again, riding another bike of mine. I’ve watched Tom grow up and progress through the ranks over the years and I’m proud to have played a role in his career as he makes in-roads in the BSB. Two riders will give the team a lot of information to work with that should benefit both riders, especially with Tom’s experience both here and overseas. It’s going to be a busy time through the last two rounds, but I’m really looking forward to it.”
The Australian Superbike Championship returns on October 27 to 29 where Stop & Seal Racing will field it’s bolstered two-rider line-up at Phillip Island.