Coote targets Barbagallo podium on return home

Round three of the YMF Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) fires into action on Saturday at Perth's Barbagallo Raceway.

A total of eight West Australians are racing in the full ASBK series this year in the premier Superbike class to the Supersport and the Moto3 and 300 Production class.

However, WA’s best chance of winning this weekend lies in the hands of leading Supersport rider and Sandgroper-turned-Victorian Mason Coote.

Coote, 22, who lives in Glen Iris, left Craigie on Boxing Day in 2012 to further his racing career in the eastern States.

“I simply had to leave WA because more of the national racing is done on the eastern side of Australia with tracks such as Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and Symmons Plains Raceway in Tasmania,” he said.

For the past two years Coote has been racing in the national Supersport championship – 2013 ASBK and 2014 in the Swann Insurance Australasian Supersport Championship.

For the 2015 ASBK series, he has joined the RTR by Moto Obsession, which is headed by Chris Edmunds and his teammate Ryan Taylor, who is the current three-time Victorian Supersport champion.

“I’m really excited to be able to return back to Barbagallo this weekend racing with such a professional team,” Coote said.

“The RTR by Moto Obsession team really do supply me a good Yamaha R6 motorcycle which is always well set up for these different types of circuit we will go to, which makes it easy for me as all I simply have to do is jump on the machine and do my bit which is go as fast as I possibly can.”

The 2010 Western Australian Superstock 600 champion is not looking too far ahead.

“Being a home round people might expect there to be some extra pressure from family and friends to perform, but I'm not getting ahead of myself as I haven't raced at Barbagallo for nearly three years,” he said.

This weekend Coote is eyeing of a top three finish.

“I believe it’s a possible chance of getting on the podium," he said. "There are some super-fast riders in the Supersport championship, so lets just wait and see what the weekend brings us.”