Aussies demonstrate their potential at MotoMini World Series finale

2025 FIM Motomini World Series

Shengbo Sun and Witold Dariusz Kupczynski have emerged as MiniMoto World Series Champions after nail-biting contests played out amongst a horde of hopefuls at the Final held in Valencia in the lead up to the MotoGP finale last weekend. The MiniGP series had been rebranded to MotoMini in the lead-up to this year’s finals.

Shengbo Sun and Witold Dariusz Kupczynski claim top honours at 2025 FIM Motomini World Series

Poland’s Kupczynski took the 160 cc trophy while China’s Sun claimed top honours in the 190 cc class. They emerged victorious after battling a brilliant array of riders and teams from around the world, including China, Poland, Venezuela, Malaysia, Australia, the UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

The class of 2025 for the FIM Motomini World Series final

Representing Australia were Judd Plaisted and Jake Paige in the 190 cc class, while Chaz Williams and Austin Attard competed on the 160 cc machinery.

MotoMini 190 cc

Shengbo Sun kick-started his day with a come-from-behind victory in the opening race to finish ahead of early leader Judd Plaisted and the UK’s Thorley Trevorrow. An excellent start for Plaisted with a maiden podium for Team Australia after leading the race at numerous times from a front row start.

Countryman Jake Paige started from ninth place on the grid and was running as high as second at the halfway point of the race. Paige went down at the final turn while challenging his countryman for second place, but managed to regroup and salvage a tenth-place finish. A tough blow in what otherwise would likely have seen two Aussies on the podium.

Shengbo Sun

In the second race, it was Venezuela’s Diego Gonzalez who collected the win ahead of Sun and Malaysia’s Qabil Irfan, setting up a tense Super Final showdown.  Judd Plaisted again led early on and was amongst the heat of a heady five-way battle for the opening parts of the 16-lap journey.

Eventually, Gonzalez, Sun and Irfan broke away from the young Aussie, who then engaged in a tussle over fourth place with young Brit Thorley Trevorrow before ultimately finishing fifth at the flag.

Jake Paige again saw the chances of a good result go up in smoke after getting tangled up with Italian Alessandro Lora. Paige remounted to salvage a 14th-place result.

Judd Plaisted

It was the two winners from the opening two races, Sun and Gonzalez, who dominated the double points Super Final. In the end, Sun held off the challenge from Gonzalez to clinch the victory and the title.

12-year-old Shengbo Sun is a deserving FIM MotoMini 190 cc Champion for 2025.

Gonzalez’s second place in the SuperFinal secured the Venezuelan the silver medal in the combined overall rankings

Jake Paige

Germany’s Ole Säuberlich secured third place in the Super Final. That result also confirmed the young German in third place in the overall combined rankings.

Judd Plaisted

Judd Plaisted was on course for an overall podium before a costly tumble while chasing the two leaders, which saw him lose a number of placings. The 13-year-old South Australian battled his way back to claim an 11th-place finish, which saw him rank fifth in the final combined overall rankings. Plaisted’s second-place finish in the opening bout underlined his potential.

Judd Plaisted – P5

“We came into this with a goal of finishing inside the top 10 and a dream of pushing into the top five. I qualified P3, got my first international podium (P2), highest-placed Aussie ever, and went under the previous qualifying lap record, finishing fifth overall on points despite a crash, setting the fourth fastest outright lap time.

Judd Plaisted was on the podium in the opening bout and proved his potential

“We may be a long way from Spain in distance, but the gap in outright speed is closing fast. The hard work from Wayne Maxwell and his coaching team is paying off, and the MiniGP program is proving its value. We’ll be back next year aiming for that top step. For now, the focus shifts to Moto3 preparation ahead of the Asia Talent Cup test in February. Big things to come. We thank every single sponsor and supporter, no matter the magnitude, for getting us to this point… whether it’s financial or encouragement, we cannot do it without you.”

Judd Plaisted

Jake Paige was running in sixth place and looked on course for a top result before going down at the final turn with five laps to run. That DNF relegated Paige to 17th overall, but the 14-year-old demonstrated plenty of speed and promise before crashes blunted his charge in every contest.

MotoMini 190 cc Race One Results

MotoMini 190 cc Race Two Results

MotoMini 190 cc Superfinale Results

MotoMini 190 cc Overall Podium

MotoMini 190 cc Standings Results

MotoMini 160 cc

Kupczynski got the day off to the perfect start with victory in the opening 160 cc bout ahead of his Polish compatriot Jan Babiarz. Italy’s Daniel Putorti rounded out the opening rostrum of the day.

Witold Kupczynski

Chaz Williams took ninth in the opening race, while Austin Attard was 11th. Less than two-tenths separated the Aussie duo at the flag.

Witold Kupczynski

The second contest witnessed the same trio of stars on the podium – however, this time in a different order. Babiarz clinched the win by 0.4s, with Kupczynski second and Putorti third.

Williams improved to seventh in race two, 6.5 seconds off the winner.  Attard finished 18th.

Austin Attard

Then came the Super Final, a double-point affair that brought about an incredibly tight finish. Kupczynski edged Putorti by a slender 0.003s to become 160cc Champion. Spain’s Javier Vigueras finished on the podium in a race that saw the top three covered by less than a tenth. Poland’s Jan Babiarz was only two-tenths further behind in fourth. The leading riders tested the limits of adhesion across the final laps.

Those results meant that ten-year-old Witold Dariusz Kupczynski clinched the title, with Putorti and Babiarz separated by a point in second and third overall.

Austin Attard

Chaz Williams was battling for a top ten finish in the SuperFinal before tangling with Roman Masar in an incident that saw them both hit the deck. Ultimately, Williams finished the Superfinale in 20th place after having to remount with a broken handlebar, which allowed him to salvage a highly creditable tenth place overall in the final combined rankings.

Chaz Williams – P10

“That’s a wrap on the 2025 FIM MiniGP World Series. P9 and P7 results placed me seventh in the championship heading into the Super Final, where I also lined up seventh on the grid. Unfortunately, contact with another rider brought me down and took me out of position. I remounted and pushed through to the flag with a broken handlebar. Not the finish we wanted, but I left nothing behind. Final championship standing – 10th.

Chaz Williams

“What an adventure. Representing Australia on the world stage has been an absolute honour and an experience I’ll never forget. Massive thanks to all the involved to make the event happen. Huge effort and work goes in behind the scenes. The biggest thanks to my coach, Wayne Maxwell, for your guidance, belief, and the countless hours you’ve invested in helping me grow this year. Your experience and support have been a huge part of my progress and your effort towards the program and me is enormous. Thank you to Tom Bramich and Joe Mariniello for travelling all the way to Spain to support and guide us. Having you both there, in the pits, trackside made the whole experience even better. “

An early crash in the SuperFinal resulted in Attard slipping to 16th overall in the standings.

Austin Attard – P16

“My first ever time representing Australia in the Motomini World Series World Series, my goal was to make it straight through to the finals and I’m so happy I did it, qualifying P15. Out of the world’s top 44 riders I leave here 16th in the world. I wasn’t sure it was possible after so long off the bike this year and feeling sick all week but I can’t describe how good this feels. This experience alone is like no other. Huge effort from everyone in the team and congratulations to my team mates for their amazing world final week and incredible results.”

Austin Attard

MotoMini 160 cc Race One Results

MotoMini 160 cc Race Two Results

MotoMini 160 cc Race Superfinale Results

MotoMini 160 cc Overall Podium

MotoMini 160 cc Standings Results

Images by PSP, courtesy of MiniMoto World Series