Kiwi Teen Hunter Charlett Targets Breakthrough Win At Motegi

• 16-year-old Christchurch racer is New Zealand’s sole representative in the international Yamaha R3 development series
• Crashes and other riders’ incidents have frustrated Charlett despite showing strong pace through the opening three rounds
• Charlett heads to Motegi targeting a top-five qualifying position and his first championship victory

Christchurch 16-year-old Hunter Charlett is the sole Kiwi contesting the Yamaha R3 BLU CRU Asia-Pacific Championship and, after a luckless opening half of the season, heads to Japan determined to fight for his first win.

Christchurch teenager Hunter Charlett has his sights firmly set on victory as the Yamaha R3 BLU CRU Asia-Pacific Championship heads to Japan for round four this weekend.

The 16-year-old is the only New Zealander contesting the six-round international development championship and, despite a frustrating run of incidents through the opening rounds, is closing in on the top 10 at the halfway point of the series.

Round four takes the championship to the spectacular 4.8km Mobility Resort Motegi circuit in Tochigi, with practice and qualifying on Saturday before racing on Sunday.

After an 18-hour journey to Japan with his mum Angela, Charlett is eager to get his first taste of the famous circuit.

“It’s got a lot of elevation and it has a lot of straights,” Charlett says. “We’ll get to check it all out tomorrow.

“It’s a very long track – it takes two minutes and 15 seconds for a lap on an R3. You get to go underneath bridges and that sort of thing. It looks like a fun track to ride.

“So far all the tracks have been really good – I like them all.”

Victory The Target

Charlett isn’t heading to Japan simply looking to collect championship points.

“I want to win because I know I can do it,” he says. “It’s just I haven’t been able to do it yet – but that’s my goal. I want to qualify top five and win from there.”

Getting a strong qualifying position has become an important part of that plan.

“It’s important to get into that lead group on the grid because when you’re in the middle of the pack, you get stumped a lot,” he explains.

“Sometimes the slower riders get ahead of you and then you have to pass them back and you’ve already lost the front group.”

It’s a lesson Charlett has learned during a season in which his pace hasn’t always been reflected by his results.

Luckless Start Down Under

The championship began at Sydney Motorsport Park in March, where Charlett qualified 12th.

He wasn’t satisfied with that starting position, but during the second race found himself battling in the leading group and with a chance of fighting for victory.

Then another rider crashed directly in front of him.

“Some guy decided to fall off in front of me and I had to take avoiding action and then lost the chance of winning the race right then,” Charlett recalls.

Things didn’t get any easier at round two at The Bend in Adelaide.

Charlett again showed good speed in practice, only for rain to arrive for qualifying.

“I got to the final corner on my qualifying lap and crashed,” he says.

He was one of seven riders to go down and, despite having been fastest of that group during practice, was left 15th on the grid.

Unfortunately, he wouldn’t make it as far as the race.

“I went out on the sighting lap, which was wet,” Charlett explains. “And I just phased out, or did something, hit the white line and crashed.”

The resulting high-side briefly knocked the young Kiwi unconscious.

Although Charlett subsequently passed the concussion tests at the circuit medical centre, the doctor wouldn’t clear him to race, resulting in two non-scores.

Fighting Back In Indonesia

Round three took the championship to Indonesia and the Pertamina Mandalika Street Circuit in Lombok, where Charlett finally put some points on the board with a pair of 11th-place finishes.

Even there, however, there was a familiar interruption.

“That same guy who fell off in front of me at Sydney, fell off in front of me again at Lombok,” he says. “I’ve had a lot of bad luck lately.”

Charlett nevertheless came away impressed by the fast Indonesian circuit – and with more experience of managing an R3 and its tyres in extremely hot conditions.

“The grip was very weird because it was grippy in the first stages of a race – like the first five laps – and after five laps it would get a little bit slippery, just because it’s so hot and the tyres just get worn out.”

More Than Just Racing

While the results matter, the Yamaha R3 BLU CRU Asia-Pacific Championship is also designed as a development programme for young racers looking to progress further in the sport.

Charlett’s mother Angela says the programme has similarities to Australia’s Oceania Junior Cup, in which they have competed for the past few years, but gives riders access to detailed data analysis and high-level coaching.

“They provide the Yamaha R3 motorcycles and they’ll sit the boys down after they’ve had time out on track and they have all the information – what gear they’re in, where they’re braking – a full analysis,” she explains.

“They’ll have their fastest lap there and they compare you to where you are on your lap time and they tell the riders where they need to go better. It’s quite involved.”

For Charlett, that access to experienced coaches is proving particularly valuable.

“I don’t usually get one-to-one coaching,” he says. “It’s really good because you get coaches who have won races in World Superbikes – at that top level. They know what they’re doing.”

Despite the difficult opening rounds, Charlett can already see the improvement in his riding.

Now he just needs the results to go with it.

And as the championship begins its second half at Motegi this weekend, the young Kiwi is hoping his run of rotten luck has finally been left behind.