By Peter Cleeland
WAITING for a Java order (coffee) to be delivered at the Victorian Road Racing Championships I got to exchange pleasantries with a rider’s mother who had journeyed down from Canberra to watch her son contest the Supersport 600 races at the Island meeting over the Australia Day long weekend.
The lady in question commented on what a beautiful place Phillip Island was and how good the weather had been to the visiting competitors. On parting from the conversation, I requested her son’s race number (37A) so I could look out for him.
Fast forward to the first Supersport race at the ready with the 600mm Canon lens and Canon 1DX Mark 3 perched on a mound at turn four. Settling over the lens number 37A was the leading bike to hit the view finder, ahead of a throng of 30 plus ballistic 600s. This was my first introduction to Marianos Nikolis who just happened to win this event and followed up with a second victory later on Saturday afternoon.
Seeking out Marianos to arrange an interview in his pit garage I was greeted with the sight of a remarkable 17-year-old stripped to the waist in his race leathers cooling down after his second triumph.
Further investigations in my research into Marianos’ career revealed that he had started his apprenticeship as a motorcycle road racer at the ripe old age of nine. Prior to graduating to the tarmac, Marianos had started his career on a dirt bike at the ripe old age of four.
By 13 years of age, he was competing in the Asian Cup series under the guidance of manager come mechanic and big brother, Yianni.
Inspired by his hero and role model Valentino Rossi, Marianos started racing in the European Talent Cup in 2023. Taking on a former racer and coach in Spain’s Diego Lozano, Marianos credited a lot of his success to his coach’s guidance and instruction. Not surprisingly when asked why number 37, Marianos replied it was Diego’s number when he raced.
Nearing the end of March 2025 Marianos will be returning to Barcelona, Spain to undertake preparation to compete in the highly prestigious FIM Junior World Championship which is held over seven rounds throughout Spain, Italy and France. Good results in this elite competition could see him moving one step closer to reaching his goal of being offered a ride in Moto3.
With two victories and two second places at the Victorian Road Racing Championships over the weekend plus the Supersport 600 lap record at the Phillip Island track Marianos has “talent to burn”.
In fact, on the Thursday prior to the weekend meeting the bike he was to ride did catch fire courtesy of a leaking battery. Unphased, replacement parts were scrounged and the problem fixed well enough to allow him to blast down the main straight at a lazy 270kmph.
With a high level of commitment to a physical fitness program based on Cardio exercise, Marianos embraces his running, cycling and gym programs with dedication and enthusiasm. In a sport where money speaks all kinds of languages when opening the doors to opportunity in Europe and thousands of would-be challengers never get to the top level Marianos is refreshing, young, highly talented sportsman with a burning ambition to succeed.
Marianos Nikolis – a young man on the move!