Announced last night, the Benro Racing team - for whom Toparis was set to ride - said the COVID-19 situation, coupled with the financial consequences, forced the decision to call off their World Superbike Championship campaign.

"It's a hard one, because I went over there [Europe] in February, and we were a day away from riding the bike," Toparis said.

"To come so close, and to put it into perspective I've been racing for the last five years and now I have the opportunity to race in the World Championship and to make it to the next level.

"Then something out of the blue [like COVID] turns up and rips it away."

Toparis' hard work over the last five years culminated with his dominating the Australian Superbike Championship in 2019, a result which seemed as though it would catapult him to the higher ranks.

However, despite his disappointment, he is determined to look towards the future.

"It just wasn't possible for this year," Toparis said.

"Hopefully in the future everything falls into place and I can get another go. Now I'm sitting here at home, hopefully I can get something together if Aussie racing gets back going again."

The nature of his career up to this point has been hectic, particularly when he was flying between Australia and Germany to compete in the ASBK and the IDM Supersport Championship last year.

Having hardly raced at all in 2020 has been an odd change of pace for Toparis, but he knows he is one of the lucky ones to remain healthy and safe following the devastating bushfires and coronavirus pandemic in the last eight months.

"It's been wild, especially last year was busy because I was flying back and forth from Europe," he said. "I was on the bike every weekend more or less, and then this year I haven't really ridden at all.

"It's been a different lifestyle the last few months, but I'm in a better position than a lot of people in my life so I can't really complain. It's a shame [not to be racing], but it's not life-threatening."

Though he has not been able to compete this year, Toparis is grateful for the hospitality of Wakefield Park, where he has occasionally done laps to scratch his competitive itch.

"Wakefield's been awesome for me, because I actually came home purely to get back on the bike and do laps, and Wakefield was very helpful with that," Toparis said.

"I think I did five days out there before it got too cold.

"That was just to keep my eye in, because I went to Europe for two months and didn't touch the bike because the tracks were closed."

Though he remains hopeful about racing in Australia this year, Toparis acknowledged the resurgence of COVID in Victoria makes any national competition unlikely.

In the interim, he said, he will most likely take to motocross to keep fit.

Until racing returns, Toparis knows time is on his side, and is ready for any opportunity that comes his way.

" I'm still positive. I'm only 20, so I'm quite young," he said.

"Hopefully something comes up for me and I can get back into it. If racing was on next week in Autsralia, I could definitely be on the grid."

The efforts made by the Benro Racing team were exceptional, Toparis said, and he thanked everyone involved for their support.

"The team was awesome to me, I can't thank them enough," he said.

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