Hailing from Murrabit in Australia’s Victoria State, Ryan comes into the Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Asia Pacific Championship with three seasons of competitive racing behind him. He’s notched up notable results too, with top three finishes in the Oceana Junior Cup(OJC) in 2021 and 2022, as well as a season in ASBK’s red hot Supersport 300 class in 2023. Now 17, Ryan started riding on dirt at two-and-a-half on his dad’s farm. Despite his obvious turn of speed, it wasn’t until a friend of the family sent through a link about the Oceana Junior Cup in 2020 that he took a step into racing. He took to it like a duck to water in testing according to his father Simon, and went on to finish second in the series at his first attempt.
For 2024 the Australian is set to give it his all in the R3 bLU cRU Asia Pacific Series. Speaking after pre-season testing and then free practice for Round 1 at Chang International Circuit, Ryan gave his first impressions.“First of all, the competition is fierce,” he said. “You can tell from the speed and aggression of the South East Asian riders that they’ve come up through underbones, so that’s definitely something to keep in mind! “Secondly, the support of the Yamaha team and coaches is incredible. They’re even teaching us how to read the data, which helps us to understand what we can do better on track.”Turning to Chang International, he went on, “I love the track. There’s so much going on with the fast sections, hard braking and the flowing parts. And we know how Turn 12 can sort out the order on the last lap!” Ryan Larkin looks like a bit of a “unit” himself, so keep an eye out for the #68!
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