ONE TO WATCH: EDWARD FAULKHEAD

Chances are you’ve never heard of 15-year-old Ned fromMelbourne in Australia, but you should keep an eye out for him. Having followed Casey Stoner’s path to glory by wrapping up countless victories in dirt track racing, the capable Aussie turned his hand to road racing last year and rounded off his first season with a test for MotoGP’s Red Bull Rookies. We asked him for his take on the Suzuki Asian Challenge.

“I’ve been racing dirt track competitively since I was four years old. I love it, but my friend Josh Waters (as in the one of BSB fame) got me into road racing last year and I’ve not looked back since. The thing I like about road racing is the speed of it all and the battling with riders. Unfortunately, the competition in Oz is a bit dry, so we decided to start looking internationally to up my game and the SAC has proven that perfect fix.

“It wasn’t so simple to get in, though. I was lucky to have Josh banging on Suzuki’s door for me, vouching that I had what it took. It’s been a huge learning curve. These riders are very fast and aggressive. I’ve had to adapt to their style, which is a little crazy at times. Everyone pushes hard and safety is the last thing in everyone’s mind. Still, that’s just the way it is and it’s not really done me any harm. This weekend I managed to lead the race which was pretty awesome. I’m where I want to be, with the plan being to come back again next year and win the series.”