Long-heralded as one of the brightest motorsport talents to emerge from Goulburn, Tom Toparis scored one of the biggest results of his career on Sunday when he took out 11th place at the Superbike World Championship's Australian Round at Phillip Island.
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The round was won by Randy Krummenacher on his 29th birthday, and marked the second time that the Swiss native has won at Phillip Island.
Having swept the Australian Supersport category earlier in the week and finished six seconds ahead of the rest of the field, Toparis' 11th place finish in the WorldSSP, 32 seconds behind Krummenacher, earned him four world championship points.
Toparis said that he was "very lucky" to have had the opportunity to compete in the World Championships, and was relieved that he was able to rebound from a crash last Tuesday in such emphatic fashion.
"When you get offered to ride by Supersport, you're never going to say no.
"I let the team down with a crash on Tuesday, which set us back and we had to go into Melbourne and get some parts and sort a few things out, but the result in the World Supersport race is really good."
Had the crash not occurred, Toparis said that it was possible he could have performed "a fraction better", however he praised his team and said that their efficiency was a huge part of the reason he was able to place so well at all.
"We pretty much lost the whole of Tuesday, so that's four hours track time that we didn't get.
"I definitely am so grateful that the team did such a good job in the pit stop, because that's such a big variable.
"If you lose one second in the pit stop, that is one whole second on the track, which is a lot of risk that you have to take.
"[I'm] so proud of my team, getting me out there and putting it just outside of the ten."
The crash also left Toparis with some sensitive ailments. It took a large chunk of skin off his bottom, which he said might require a skin graft upon his return to Melbourne.
"It's a bit annoying, itchy, and awkward to ride on," Toparis said.
"It's okay, I got through the weekend without it causing too much trouble, but we'll listen to what the doctors have to say.
"It was a bit of a setback all week."
Having made a good start to his World Championship career, Toparis remains focused on claiming his first Australian title before committing to any further international competitions.
"I think we're on track for [an Australian Championship] after this weekend, we scored maximum points," he said.
Toparis will next see action in the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) from March 22 to March 24 at Wakefield Park.
