Hook leads the Aussie Rookies charge

The Australian triumvirate of Josh Hook, Arthur Sissis and Dylan Mavin has shaped up well in the opening Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup pre-season test at Estoril in Portugal on March 26-27.

Twenty-seven teenagers took to the circuit on identical KTM RC125s, with Hook the best of the Aussies in 12th, one spot ahead of reigning Australia under 16 speedway champion Sissis, who is one of the youngest in the field at just 13 years old.

Mavin was 15th, with only 0.255secs separating the trio.

Fastest was 14-year-old Japanese rider Daijiro Hiura, who won the Rookies Cup round at Estoril last year, from Norwegian Sturla Fagerhaug and Frenchman Nelson Major.

Hiura's fastest lap was 1:49.983. To put that into context, the lap record is held by Aprilia rider Gabor Talmacsi with a 1:45.027.

For someone with almost no road race experience at all - although he has completed plenty of practice laps at Mac Park in South Australia - Sissis was a revelation at Estoril.

When asked about the KTM, the easy going Sissis said:  "It's just another motorcycle."

There will a second round of testing at Jerez in Spain before the title starts back at the same circuit on May 2.

For more information on the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, click here.