Jarred Brook gets KTM RC390 Cup MotoAmerica wildcard
Exciting young KTM Australia and Wide Bay Motorcycles dirt tracker Jarred Brook will take what could be a very important step in his young career today, when he turns his first few laps on a race track of the bitumen variety, on a KTM RC390.
Brook has been invited back to the US to compete at the last round of Moto America – the US road racing championship – on September 9-11 at New Jersey Motorsports Park, where he will ride in the KTM RC390 Cup round.
It’s been a stellar couple of months for the 18-year-old apprentice carpenter from Gympie, who last month won the prestigious AMA Dirt Track Horizon Award and three AMA Grand Championships during his US trip, then less than a fortnight ago won three titles on his KTM 250 SX-F and KTM 450 SX-F machines at the Australian Dirt Track championships at Barleigh Ranch.
And speaking of the race track… The one not entirely insignificant stumbling block in Brook’s RC390 project is that as of yesterday Brook had never ridden a motorcycle on a bitumen race track.
KTM Australia has enlisted the help of a man who knows plenty on the subject – three-time World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss – and with Brook’s outstanding talent and feel, both Bayliss and KTM believe it’s possible for him to adapt within the constraints of the very short time frame, and take an important first step into road racing.
Jarred Brook
“I’ll be doing the last round of Moto America in the RC Cup class at New Jersey Motorsport Park, and it’s pretty damn awesome! I’ve never been on bitumen before, but KTM Australia has given me an RC 390 to practice on – I haven’t ridden it yet but it’s pretty awesome; looks cool, feels good to sit on and sounds good. I can’t wait! I will be practising on that for all of this week and next week. I’m going down today to do some practice with Troy Bayliss, cut a few laps with him and he can hopefully give me a few tips. I’ve been wanting to have a go on the road for a fair while now, and KTM Australia has been interested too, it’s just come about a little bit quicker than we intended. I think the cornering will be the biggest thing to get my head around, with the extra grip and everyone just two-wheeling with their knee down, where I’m used to sticking one foot down instead.”
Troy Bayliss, 3-time World Superbike Champion
“For me, Jarred is at the top of his game; he’s had so much success in dirt track both here and in the states. It’s a bit of a rush job as he has no experience on a road bike or even a Supermotard, so I was surprised at this late decision to go and race the last round of the RC Cup. But he has all the attributes to be fast on the road and knowing him and having raced alongside him on the oil tracks I know what talent he has. He’s young, fit and the perfect size for the road, so I’m really happy to take the first steps with him in this possible new direction. Today we’ll be straight on the road bike, although I will have my KTM 450s there for us as well. We’ll ride at Xtremekarting.com, which is a great track for the KTM 390.”
Tam Paul KTM Australia National Brand Manager: Tam Paul KTM Australia National Brand Manager
“We’re excited to help open this door for Jarred Brook – he’s an outstanding talent in dirt track and a long term KTM man, so we’re more than happy to give him another tool to make this next step in his career. Our RC 390 is a spectacular machine – a full sports-faired, LAMS-approved bike created by KTM to enter the highly competitive sports bike market. It has the lowest weight and the leading power-to-weight ratio in its class. I’m sure Jarred will enjoy riding it.”
