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Philip Island Classic - UK Retains International Challenge - Malcolm - 24-01-2016

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The United Kingdom has produced a spectacular day two to retain the Mitchelton Wines International Challenge at the 2016 Australian Motorcycle News International Island Classic at Phillip Island.

With the UK's tireless campaigner Jeremy McWilliams again leading the way, the UK turned around a 12-point deficit to Australia after day one to run out an easy 99pt (693 to 594) winner, followed by impressive newcomer Ireland (421). America (355) and New Zealand (289) were fourth and fifth.

The balance of power emphatically shifted in this morning's race three, as seven of the UK riders finished inside the top 10, while it was a disaster for Australia with only two of its team — Jed Metcher (Honda Harris) and Steve Martin (Suzuki Katana) — able to put together some really solid points.

Metcher was brilliant in winning race three — his first in the International Challenge — and he then continued his dominant form in the final six-lap race to finish equal on points with McWilliams (Yamaha Harris) in the individual standings — the second tie in the past five years for the prestigious Ken Wootton Perpetual Trophy.

After a tough campaign, McWilliams was delighted with the UK victory.

"The team was pretty nervous across the board this weekend after a lack of track time on Friday. In the first race on Saturday we simply weren't up to speed, but race three was where we really turned it on.

Compared to the last few years, the Aussies have lost a bit of depth and that was particularly evident today."


Said the 51-year-old former grand prix rider.

Roger Winfield, the man who supplies the machinery for the top UK riders, was delighted after what he described as a "fraught weekend".

"There's just a really strong rapport between the riders and mechanics in this team. Everyone lends a hand and on the track we had quite a few riders that had similar speed which allowed us to keep on accumulating the points.

Winning for the second time is special, but it's never quite like the first…"


Metcher finished with two thirds and two wins in the four International Challenge races, while McWilliams' brace of second places saw them both finish equal on 156pts, well clear of third-placed Steve Martin (148). UK riders then filled the remaining positions in the top eight, with Conor Cummins (Honda Harris, 140) in fourth from John McGuinness (Honda Harris, 133), last year's winner Ryan Farquhar (Yamaha Harris, 132), Glen Richards (Suzuki Harris, 132) and James Hillier (Yamaha Harris, 119).

Australia's Beau Beaton (Irving Vincent Black Lightning) was ninth overall on 118pts, winning the opening two races on Saturday before retiring with a mechanical gremlin in race three while in third position.

Meanwhile, it was a dirty weekend for three-time Aussie superbike champion Shawn Giles (Katana) who failed to finish two races after a slew of engine problems, while compatriot Cameron Donald (McIntosh Suzuki) only made it through 50 percent of the program as well. Former Aussie road racing champion Marty Craggill, making his International Challenge debut on the Yamaha TZ750, only finished one of the four races, adding another nail in the coffin for Australia's attempt to win back a trophy it had previously dominated from 2005-2014.

The highest point-scorer for Ireland was expatriate Paul Byrne (Suzuki McIntosh) in 11th overall, but it certainly would have been a top 10 finish if his Suzuki McIntosh hadn't stalled on the grid in race four. Byrne's teammate Ben Rea (Suzuki XR69) finished in 12th, while the highest point-scorers for America and New Zealand were Pat Mooney (Harris Yamaha) and Pete Byers (Honda CB1100) in 16th and 20th respectively.

Beaton switched from his four to two-valve Black Lightning for the final International Challenge race and edged in front of McWilliams, which would have been enough for Metcher to win the Ken Wootton Perpetual Trophy by 1pt.

But the wily McWilliams was fully aware of the machinations and he wouldn't have any of it — despite dealing with a broken steering damper.

"When Beau went past me it was a kind of wake-up call. I knew I had to pull my finger out, and I managed to get back past and after that I reckon it's the hardest I have ever ridden around here — even when I was battling tooth and nail with Shawn Giles in 2014. I was leaving black lines everywhere and did everything I could to keep Beau behind me.

I definitely didn't have the speed to catch Jed — broken steering damper or not — but I didn't want to give him the victory that easily."


Said McWilliams.

There was another layer of intrigue to the McWilliams and Metcher battle: the former was the crew chief for Metcher during the 2012 world supersport season. But in the end nothing could separate the pair.

"I couldn't be happier with how it's all turned out. I managed the gap in that last race hoping that Beau would finish in second to allow me to take the individual honours outright, but it wasn’t to be. Still, I'm ecstatic.


I expected to go a little faster in that last race and we set-up the bike a little harder to accommodate that, but the laps times just weren't there and I was a little slower than race three."


Said Metcher, who set the fastest lap of the weekend in race three (1min37.287secs).

Metcher now plans to be back at Phillip Island next month to race as a wildcard in the opening round of the 2016 Superbike World Championship from February 26-28.





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Winning UK Team

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Metcher & McWilliams in battle

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John McGuinness 

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Beau Beaton leads the field

All photographs by Russell Colvin

Island Classic 2016 – International Challenge Race Three Results

1:Jed Metcher
2: Jeremy McWilliams +0.309
3: Steve Martin +7.54
4: Conor Cummins +7.99
5: Paul Byrne +12.06
6: John McGuinness +13.04
7: Ryan Farquhar +16.20
8: Glen Richards +20.91
9: James Hillier +21.80
10: Craig Ditchburn +32.93
11: Marty Craggill +33.14
12: Laurie Fyffe +44.88
13: Hilton Hicks +45.45
14: Pete Byers +46.72
15: Ben Rea +52.73
16: Nick Ienatsch +52.74
17: Dave Crussell +54.27
18: Peter Mizzi +55.85
19: Mike Meskell +56.87
20: Danial ‘Joe’Weir +61.05
21: Damian Mackie +62.73
22: Roger Baker +64.78
23: David Moss +65.31
24: Eirik Nielsen +66.64

Island Classic 2016 – International Challenge Team Standings after Race Three

Team UK 524
Team Australia 427
Team Ireland 342
Team USA 269
Team NZ 199

Island Classic 2016 – Individual Points after International Challenge Race Three

Jeremy McWilliams 117
Jed Metcher 116
Steve Martin 111
Conor Cummins 105
Glen Richards 104
Paul Byrne 102
John McGuinness 100
Ryan Farquhar 98
James Hillier 87
Craig Ditchburn 86



Island Classic 2016 – International Challenge Race Four Results

1: Jed Metcher
2: Jeremy McWilliams +2.67
3: Beau Beaton +3.44
4: Steve Martin +8.85
5: Shawn Giles +10.32
6: Conor Cummins +10.56
7: Ryan Farquhar +14.53
8: John McGuinness +14.54
9: James Hillier +28.10
10: John Allen +33.24
11: Pat Mooney +36.35
12: Craig Ditchburn +36.38
13: Glen Richards +39.57
14: Scott Webster +46.21
15: John Walsh +46.37

Island Classic 2016 – International Challenge Team Points

Team UK 693
Team Australia 594
Team Ireland 421
Team USA 355
Team NZ 289

Island Classic 2016 – Ken Wootton Memorial Trophy Individual Points

1: Jed Metcher 156
2: Jeremy McWilliams 156
3: Steve Martin 148
4: Conor Cummins 140
5: John McGuinness 133
6: Ryan Farquhar 132
7: Glen Richards 132
8: James Hillier 119
9: Beau Beaton 118
10: Craig Ditchburn 115
11: Paul Byrne 102
12: Ben Rea 96
13: John Allen 89
14: John Walsh 85
15: Scott Webster 83


CATEGORY WINNERS – 2016 AMCN 23RD INTERNATIONAL ISLAND CLASSIC

125cc FORGOTTEN ERA: - Bernie Summers
125cc NEW ERA: - Tate Coghill
125cc POST-CLASSIC: - Stacey Heaney
250cc CLASSIC: - Darrell Bailey
250cc FORGOTTEN ERA: - Russell Fairbairn
250cc NEW ERA PRODUCTION: - Ryan Young
250cc NEW ERA: - Brett Simmonds
250cc POST-CLASSIC: - Murray Seabrook
350cc POST-CLASSIC: - Glenn Hindle
500cc CLASSIC: - Neil May
500cc NEW ERA: - Joe Akroyd
500cc POST-CLASSIC: - Tom Bramich
NEW ERA FORMULA 750cc: - Aaron Morris
CLASSIC SIDECARS: - Garth Francis/Paul Kenny 
FORGOTTEN ERA SIDECARS: - Anthony Vrdoljak/Corey Forde
POST-CLASSIC SIDECARS: - Ray Smith/Amanda Smith
PRE-WAR: - Stan Mucha
UNLIMITED CLASSIC: - Garth Francis
UNLIMITED FORGOTTEN ERA – Minor: - Robert Young
UNLIMITED FORGOTTEN ERA – Premier: - Cameron Donald
INVITATIONAL P6 OPEN: - Peter Ward
NEW ERA FORMULA 1300cc: - Scott Campbell
UNLIMITED POST-CLASSIC: - Dean Oughtred