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Strong Aussie line-up for 2019 Suzuka 8 Hours

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2019 FIM Endurance World Championship

Aussies all set for Suzuka 8 Hours

This weekend will see the Suzuka 8 Hours take place in Japan as the 2019 FIM Endurance World Championship grand finale, with seven Australians taking part between the 8 Hours and 4 Hours events.

Suzuka Hour QP Haslam
2018 Suzuka 8 Hour

The Suzuka 8 Hours has run since 1978, with many Aussie racers making their mark over the years, including Tony Hatton, Michael Cole, Kevin Magee, Mick Doohan, Wayne Gardner and Daryl Beattie.

The three time Australian Superbike Champion Josh Waters lines up with the MotoMap S.W.A.T team again for the fourth year in a row, with 2019 marking Waters’ ninth year racing at the Suzuka 8 Hours event.

Suzuka Hour Preview
Josh Hook – F.C.C. TSR Honda – Image by PSP/Mateus Mjagielski

The Mildura based rider will team up with former World 250cc/500cc/MotoGP racer, Nobuatsu Aoki for the sixth time, as well as former BSB rider Dan Linfoot, former. For 2019, Waters, Aoki and Linfoot are competing in the Superstock class.

Former World Supersport and Superbike racer Mark Aitchison takes to the grid with the Will-Raise RS-Itoh Kawasaki Racing Team, with the 35-year-old having been competing in the MFJ Superbike All Japan Road Race Championship for the satellite Kawasaki squad.

Suzuka Hour Preview
Mark Aitchison and the Will-Raise RS-Itoh Kawasaki Racing Team

Aitchison tested with the Kawasaki team for the 8 Hours Suzuka Program and his lap times were good enough to get the nod for a start this weekend. Aitchison, who hails from the Gold Coast, and his team have had two tests at Suzuka, which saw most of the European and Japanese teams present, as well as one private test.

Aitchison’s teammates for the Suzuka 8 Hours will be Akira Yanagawa, and Ryosuke Iwato, who currently rides for Kawasaki Japan as part of their factory effort.

Mark Aitchison

“The last official test was a great experience, as basically the whole EWC championship was on hand to the 8 Hours race weekend. Testing went well enough to this point, though in Japan the weather conditions are always challenging. So, it’s a matter of compromise between you and your teammates on setup. It’s Ryosuke first year as factory rider and I understand why they gave him the opportunity. He’s an extremely talented rider and his lap times at the recent test turned some heads from the top Kawasaki bosses. I think he’s got a great future ahead of him. I really love the fans energy and enthusiasm that they bring. On top of that, the event itself brings its own unique platform, which combined with spectator involvement provides such an exciting and enjoyable weekend.”

27-year-old Aaron Morris reunites with the Paris based R2CL team, in what was a last-minute call up by the team on Saturday. Morris, who is competing in the Australian Superbike Championship with the Maxima BMW team, competed with the R2CL outfit throughout the 2016 EWC championship. 2016 saw Morris and his team finishing fourth at their Le Mans debut, twelfth at Suzuka and ninth in the teams FIM EWC Championship standing.

ASBK TBG Round Morgan Park Morris Hepburn TBG
Aaron Morris – Image by TBG

Morris will certainly be up against it this weekend, with no testing and riding for the first time with his teammates, Yoshihiro Konno and Josh Elliott, while coming to terms with the Suzuki GSX-R1000R on a track which he’s admitted to be his favourite.

Aaron Morris

“I’d love to improve on my best placed finish of twelfth we scored in 2016. We didn’t have a base set up, so we starting again and with three riders it’s hard to have a direction which everyone is happy with.”

2019 marks the first time in Paul Byrne’s career that he will race at Suzuka, joining TEAM SUGAI Racing Japan for the 4 Hours event. Kazu Kuroda from K1 Racing contacted the Irishman and now Australian citizen, a few weeks ago to see if he interested in racing on the team’s Honda CBR600RR. Byrne, 34, previously worked with Kuroda back in 2016, when he was his mechanic racing the International Island Classic and the International Festival of Speed on the DMR Harris XR69.

Suzuka Hour Preview
Paul Byrne joins TEAM SUGAI Racing Japan

Byrne has had to learn the 18-corner circuit, as well as get his head around riding the Aprilia RSV4 machine, a bike he hadn’t ridden before, taking part in the official three-day test.

Paul Byrne

“I mentioned to Kazu that I had an interest in doing some endurance racing in Japan and finally its all come together for the first time, which I’m really grateful for. The first day was about just learning and trying to get as many laps done as possible plus. I really enjoyed the challenge. The second day I was a lot more relaxed and I started to push a bit harder and my lap times came down. But the main objective of the test was for me to help my teammate, Sugai Yoshiyuki with feedback. On top of that I just wanted to get some laps on track to learn it ahead of this weekend.”

Other Aussies to keep an eye out for over the weekend are full-season FIM Endurance World Championship competitors Broc Parkes (YART – Yamaha) and reigning Champ, Josh Hook (F.C.C. TSR Honda France). Also contesting is current Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss (KYB Moriwaki Racing Team).

Suzuka Hour Preview
Broc Parkes (YART – Yamaha) – Image by PSP/Mateus Mjagielski

Hook and the F.C.C. TSR Honda France team are currently sitting third in the Championship; with a strong fourth-fastest finish at the Official Test and topping the times at yesterday’s practice as the quickest of the full-season FIM EWC Team.

YART’s lucky number seems to be five. Currently sitting fifth in the standings and posting the fifth-fastest time at yesterday’s practice, Parkes and his teammates all were quick and consistent.

2019 Endurance World Championship Standings

Pos Team / Equipe Total
1 Team Src Kawasaki France 132
2 Suzuki Endurance Racing Team 127
3 F.C.C. Tsr Honda France 109
4 Wepol Racing 101
5 Yart – Yamaha 88
6 Honda Endurance Racing 79
7 Bolliger Team Switzerland 73
8 Vrd Igol Pierret Experiences 53
9 Moto Ain 45
10 Gert56 By Gs Yuasa 45
11 Bmrt 3d Maccio Racing 39
12 Fany Gastro Bmw Motorrad- By Mercury Racing 38
13 Webike Tati Team Trickstar 36
14 Team 33 Coyote  Louit Moto 32
15 Junior Team Lms Suzuki 30
16 Wójcik Racing Team 2 28
17 No Limits Motor Team 28
18 3art- Moto Team 95 27
19 National Motos 25
20 Motors Events 24
21 Motobox Kremer Racing #65 24
22 Wójcik Racing Team 23
23 Team Erc-Bmw Motorrad Endurance 14
24 Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers 12
25 Team Lrp Poland 12
26 Maco Racing Team 12
27 Jma Motos Action Bike 8
28 Og Motorsport By Sarazin 7
29 Zuff Racing Team 6
30 Am Moto Racing Competition 5
31 Mototech Ewc Team 4
32 Pitlane Endurance 3
33 Gsm Racing 2
34 Slider Endurance 1
35 Falcon Racing Rennes Motos 1
36 Set Racing 1

Source: MCNews.com.au

Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News

Aaron Morris on NextGen BMW for Morgan Park ASBK

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Morris in the mix for Morgan Park ASBK

Next Gen Motorsports have confirmed that Aaron Morris will race with the Victorian based Superbike team at the fourth round of the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK), which takes place at Queensland’s Morgan Park Raceway over the first weekend of July.

After a successful test at the Pirelli Masters of Morgan Park race meeting earlier this month Morris exhibited encouraging pace aboard the Maxima BMW S 1000RR machine.

Masters of Morgan Park Aaron Morris RC
2019 Masters of Morgan Park – Aaron Morris – Image by Russell Colvin

In terms of ASBK competition, Morris, who hails from Newcastle in New South Wales, has racked up a total of 51 race starts in the Australian Superstock 600 Championship, when he raced in the category from 2008 through to 2010. In 2013, the 27-year-old did one year in the Australian Supersport Championship, which saw him starting a total of twelve races that year and finishing second overall in the six-round championship.

Morris is however quite new to the premier category, having only competed in the opening round of the 2018 Australian Superbike Championship at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, which saw him scoring a 6-10-10 results, carding him ninth overall for the round.

Masters of Morgan Park Aaron Morris RC
2019 Masters of Morgan Park – Aaron Morris – Image by Russell Colvin

Aaron Morris

“I’m extremely grateful that both Wayne [Hepburn] and Shane [Kinderis] have decided to give me a go for round four,” said Morris. I just hope I can do the team and their sponsors proud by delivering them a good result.

“My weaknesses across the three-and-a-half days at Morgan Park was definitely my fitness. Obviously if my fitness is better, my mental strength will be stronger as well. Towards the end of the test I found I was getting a bit tired, which meant I was probably not performing as well as I should have been.”

Masters of Morgan Park Aaron Morris RC
2019 Masters of Morgan Park – Aaron Morris – Image by Russell Colvin

Maxima BMW’s Team Manager, Wayne Hepburn expressed that he was more than happy with Morris’ performance at the recent test at Morgan Park.

Wayne Hepburn

“It goes without saying that Aaron impressed both Shane and I with how he performed a few weeks ago,” said Hepburn.

“We always knew he was going to be fast, but it was his attitude and his way he gave feedback about the bike is which impressed us the most. It was a no brainer to offer him a one-off ride for round four of the ASBK to see what he can do under race conditions.

“At this stage, Aaron will only do round four of the championship. We’ll see how he goes and then make up our minds for what happens for the remining three rounds of the championship.”

Masters of Morgan Park Aaron Morris RC
2019 Masters of Morgan Park – Aaron Morris – Image by Russell Colvin

Round four of the Australian Superbike Championship at Morgan Park is scheduled for 5-7 July.

Source: MCNews.com.au

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Aaron Morris tastes NextGen BMW S 1000 RR at Morgan Park

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Aaron Morris dominates Masters of Morgan Park

It’s fair to say that the Maxima BMW team hasn’t quite exactly had the start to its 2019 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) season that the squad had hoped for.

As a result, the Victorian based team decided to use the Pirelli Masters of Morgan Park race meeting – hosted by The Motorcycle Sportsmen of QLD – as a ‘shake down’ test ahead of the fourth round of the ASBK series which takes place at the Queensland circuit on the first weekend of July.

Masters of Morgan Park Aaron Morris RC
2019 Masters of Morgan Park – Aaron Morris – Image by Russell Colvin

However, due to both Glenn Allerton and Ted Collins being injured at The Bend, the team enlisted 27-year-old Aaron Morris to step in and give the Next Gen Motorsports team some feedback.

The weekend saw Morris, who has previously raced in the Australian Superstock 600, Supersport and Superbike Championship, faced with the task of learning the technical Morgan Park layout, as well as a new bike and team.

The weekend proved positive which has given the team a good direction for the upcoming ASBK round. According to Morris, who dominated races one, two and three, from pole, the biggest hurdle of the weekend was getting his head around the 2.967km circuit, which is not the easiest track to learn.

For reference, the lap record at Morgan Park is 1min12.645s put down by Troy Herfoss on his way to victory at the 2.1-kilometre circuit last year on the Penrite Honda. Cru Halliday set the qualifying record there in 2017 at 1min12.808s on the YRT YZF-R1M.

Morris got down to a best of 1min14.744s during his time on the bike at the circuit over the weekend. Glenn Allerton did not race the BMW at Morgan Park last year but the team’s young Superbike rider Ted Collins recorded a best of 1min14.777s on his way to a pair of top-ten finishes.

Masters of Morgan Park Aaron Morris RC
2019 Masters of Morgan Park – Aaron Morris – Image by Russell Colvin
Aaron Morris

“Firstly I would like to thank both Wayne and Shane for giving me the call to fill in for both Glenn and Ted. It’s been a great few days, While the circuit has been challenging to learn, the Maxima BMW S 1000RR has been great to ride. Every change we have made to the bike has been a positive change and it’s a credit to Shane and Wayne in terms of how they work and understand what I’m asking for. On top of that, hats off to the Pirelli tyres, as the tyres handle this circuit extremely well. With twelve months off a Superbike, fitness wasn’t my strong point. Once again, I would like to thank both Wayne and Shane for having me over the weekend.”

Masters of Morgan Park Aaron Morris RC
Aaron Morris – Image by Russell Colvin
Wayne Hepburn – Maxima BMW Team Manager

“Overall, we could not have asked for any more in terms of what Aaron has done over these last three and a half days. It was always going to be an unknown heading into this test and Aaron has quite simply impressed me with his overall speed and feedback which he has been able to give us. We are planning to have Glenn and Ted fit enough to test later at Morgan Park in June, if fit enough. However, for the time being it has been an absolute pleasure having Aaron on board with us here. I would like to thank Aaron for his time and professional valuable input.”

Masters of Morgan Park Aaron Morris RC
2019 Masters of Morgan Park – Aaron Morris – Image by Russell Colvin

Source: MCNews.com.au

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Josh Hayes dominates International Challenge finale

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International Challenge Race Four

Images by Rob Mott

Aaron Morris had his perfect record spoiled in race three when gearbox woes saw him get pipped at the post by Steve Martin and Shawn Giles. With no parts to fix it ahead of race four, the Corish Motorsport squad are having to make do by dropping three teeth off the rear sprocket on the TBR Katana in order to try and contest the race with only the first three gears.

Those woes had allowed the TBR/D&D Katanas get the better of Morris in the third bout and had seen Steve Martin close to within five-points of Morris heading into Sunday afternoon’s final six-lap race.

Problems for Josh Hayes with his Yamaha running on three-cylinders, and a jump-start penalty for Larry Pegram in race three, had hurt Team America’s chances for overall victory in the International Challenge. Heading into the final battle in the four race war Team USA trailed Australia by 35-points. The team had put in a whole new ignition system in to Hayes’ machine ahead of this final six-lap race of the 2019 Island Classic weekend.

They are away!

Josh Hayes fired off the line to head the International Challenge field like a rat up a drainpipe! Hayes led the field by a full second through the first split as Jed Metcher, Alex Phillis, Steven Martin and Aaron Morris gave chase. A 1m43.26 for Hayes from a standing start, and he backed it up with a 1m37.215 to extend his lead out to 1.6-seconds as they started lap two.

The battle for second place was hotting up with Alex Phillis battling with Jed Metcher while Steve Martin was looking to join that game.

Aaron Morris was suffering with those gearbox problems and struggling for pace as he tried to defend his fifth place from Giles, Pegram and Gilbert.  He could not muster enough speed to keep them at bay and was passed by all those riders by half race distance.  The individual trophy was slipping from his grasp with every position lost. During that middle part of the race on points, with Steve Martin in fourth, and Aaron Morris in ninth, that put the pair on 150-points apiece…

Steve Martin then got the better of Alex Phillis to move up to third place and started vying for second place with Jed Metcher.

Up front Josh Hayes had pulled the plug and was managing a three-second lead before taking the chequered flag as the clear race winner to finish the event on a high for Team USA.

The American effort for the 2019 Island Classic was absolutely outstanding and added some great flavour to the International Challenge event for 2019.

Team UK was sorely missed, without a doubt, but with Team America coming on so strong it only leaves me sailvating at just how good it might be if a Team UK came back in strength to really shake things up. Word is that something along those lines might happen for the 2020 Island Classic! That would truly cement the Island Classic as the most serious historic road racing event held anywhere in the world.

New riders to the event, including race four winner Josh Hayes, were genuinely shocked at how hard the fast runners ride in this event. And were in wide-eyed awe at the speed of the renowned Phillip Island circuit.

Steve Martin top scoring individual overall

Steve Martin pipped Phillis and Metcher in what was an almost photo finish to take second place in this final race, and with it  Steve scored enough points to take out the Ken Wootton Perpetual Trophy for the highest individual points scorer. The winning margin over Aaron Morris was two points.

Shawn Giles took fifth place in the final race ahead of Larry Pegram, Michael Gilbert and John Reynolds while Aaron Morris limped home to ninth place. Those gearbox problems costing him his chance at overall individual honours. But that’s historic racing, as much as the riders battle on track, the pit crews do battle all weekend in pit-lane in their own race just to keep their fast but fickle mounts running.

Team Australia win International Challenge

Team USA put up a valiant fight in that final battle but in the end Australia won the war with 676 points to America’s 634.  Team New Zealand scored 460 points.

International Challenge Race Four Results

  1. Josh Hayes
  2. Steve Martin +4.052
  3. Alex Phillis +4.089
  4. Jed Metcher +4.114
  5. Shawn Giles +8.919
  6. Larry Pegram +10.769
  7. Michael Gilbert +10.771
  8. John Reynolds +14.769
  9. Aaron Morris +15.233
  10. Mark Miller +20.701
  11. Craig Ditchburn +20.931
  12. Jay Lawrence +21.364
  13. Dean Oughtred +21.446
  14. Barrett Long +21.476
  15. Dale Quarterley +29.966
  16. Scott Webster +36.295
  17. John Allen +36.321
  18. Duncan Coutts +60.846
  19. Justin Mellerick +66.321
  20. David Crussell +67.774
  21. Roger Gunn +67.934
  22. Laurie Fyffe +68.412
  23. Joe Pethoud +73.788

International Challenge Team Points

  1. Australia 676
  2. USA 634
  3. NZ 460

Ken Wootton Perpetual Trophy Points

  1. Steve Martin 152
  2. Aaron Morris 150
  3. Josh Hayes 141
  4. Shawn Giles 141
  5. Larry Pegram 130
  6. Michael Gilbert 128
  7. John Reynolds 128
  8. Mark Miller 121
  9. Craig Ditchburn 120
  10. Barrett Long 114
  11. Jed Metcher 113
  12. Alex Phillis 109
  13. Scott Webster 99
  14. John Allen 93
  15. Jay Lawrence 89

Source: MCNews.com.au

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Aussie Katana 1-2-3 in International Challenge Race 3

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International Challenge Race Three

Images by Rob Mott

Conditions were again quite friendly to both competitors and their fickle machinery at Phillip Island today.  Friday’s fierce temperatures were now a distant memory and the cooler weather was also making things a lot more pleasant for the crowd.

A couple of guys not enjoying things today though were Jason Pridmore and Beau Beaton. Pridmore had a massive highside at turn 11 on Saturday and the chasing Beau Beaton was left nowhere to go apart from over the top of Pridmore’s machine. The pair were both attended to by medical staff on the circuit before being sent off to hospital where Pridmore was confirmed to have broken his leg, while Beaton was diagnosed with a fractured L5 vertebrae, along with small fractures to his pelvis and Sacrum.

The Island Classic International Challenge battle though must go on!

After Saturday’s two six-lap races things were tight at the top. The new and improved Team USA had really stepped into the breech left by the absence of Team UK. Still, the absence of a credible Team UK is keenly felt and they are sorely missed.

Ahead of the third bout Australia led the USA by only 15-points. With a perfect scorecard on Saturday Aaron Morris led the way on individual scores ahead of four-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes. Steve Martin had been getting more comfortable as the weekend has progressed and finished second to Morris in race two after Hayes had some problems late in the race.

There was really nothing in it due to the tight points scoring system that is used to decide the winner of the Ken Wootton Perpetual Trophy, the award for the highest performing individual rider across the four International Challenge races of the event.

IIC Phillip Island Rob Mott Sunday Start Aaron Morris Steve Martin
Riders ready on the grid

Away we go!

Larry Pegram got a scorcher off the line to lead the field through Southern Loop for the first time ahead of Jed Metcher, Steve Martin and David Johnson while pole-sitter Aaron Morris was in fifth place as they exited turn four. Metcher made a small mistake late on that opening lap and lost a little ground but Aaron Morris had the Katana wound up through the back section of the circuit and round turn 11 and 12 to move up on to the tail of Pegram as they started lap two.

Aaron Morris then seemed to miss a gear or something which allowed Pegram and Metcher to get back past the Katana. Josh Hayes made a mistake and slipped from sixth place all the way back to 15th place with four laps still to go. The fastest man on lap two had been Shawn Giles but the top six were all in the 38s.

While in the the lead on lap three Larry Pegram’s team were informed that he had been given a jump-start time penalty in what would be another significant and costly blow for Team USA. Before he had seen that on his pit-board though Aaron Morris, Steve Martin, Shawn Giles and Jed Metcher had pushed him back to fifth place.

David Johnson’s weekend of woe continued with the South Australia limping back into pit-lane with mechanical problems.

Shawn Giles then put in a new fastest lap of the race on lap four with a 1m37.425 but all that leading trio were now in the 37s. Only two-tenths covered that triumvirate with two laps remaining while Jed Metcher continued to try and chase them down and turn that leading group into a four-way affair.

As they got the last lap board Jed Metcher joined the party to set up an exciting final lap. However, the T-Rex Honda hiccupped on the exit of turn four, causing him to pull the clutch in fearing an impending engine detonation. Metcher was able to continue tentatively, his machine recovering its composure, but his run for the podium was done and he had to settle for fourth.

Aaron Morris had the speed to hold his challengers off around the back of the circuit, but then missed a shift or had some sort of issue on the run towards the main straight which allowed him to be gazumped down the chute by Steve Martin and Shawn Giles.

IIC Phillip Island Rob Mott Sunday Aaron Morris Steve Martin
Steve Martin was able to round up Aaron Morris on the run to the line after Morris made a mistake at a crucial final juncture

Larry Pegram crossed the line in fifth, but his jump-start penalty pushed him back to seventh place and promoted his countrymen Michael Gilbert and Steve Rapp ahead of him on the official scoresheet.

Craig Ditchburn scored eighth, Dean Oughtred ninth and honorary Kiwi for the weekend John Reynolds rounded out the top ten ahead of Barrett Long, Mark Miller, Jay Lawrence and Dale Quarterley.

That result should extend Australia’s lead in the International Challenge Team points standings but America will remain with striking distance.

International Challenge Race Three Results

  1. Steve Martin
  2. Shawn Giles +0.142
  3. Aaron Morris +0.157
  4. Jed Metcher +3.547
  5. Michael Gilbert +8.984
  6. Steve Rapp +14.261
  7. Larry Pegram +4.312 (+10 sec penalty)
  8. Craig Ditchburn ++16.316
  9. Dean Oughtred +16.698
  10. John Reynolds +16.806
  11. Barrett Long +16.837
  12. Mark Miller +18.581
  13. Jay Lawrence +18.916
  14. Dale Quarterley +23.732
  15. Josh Hayes +24.283
  16. Brendan Wilson +27.624
  17. Scott Webster +27.749
  18. John Allen +32.902
  19. Rennie Scaysbrook +38.062
  20. Justin Mellerick +43.735

Source: MCNews.com.au

Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News

Aaron Morris takes pole for Island Classic International Challenge

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2019 Island Classic Friday Report

Images by Rob Mott

Heat and wind. Those were the two words on everyone’s lips at Phillip Island today as they sweltered through oppressive conditions. Ambient temperatures nudging towards 40-degrees does not make for the nicest weather to be working on highly tuned air-cooled machines, it was downright tortuous in fact.

That did not stop more than 500 historic motorcycles taking to the track today though with 15-minute qualifying sessions for all classes of racing. Seven races were also on the card for the opening day of Island Classic 2019. There had been a practice session attended by almost all riders on Thursday, but Friday was the first official day of the event.

Plenty of spectators also made the pilgrimage down to Phillip Island to check out all the action and the Island was buzzing with the huge influx of tourists here to celebrate the Australia Day long weekend. Those not taking shelter from the heat, were instead enjoying the dazzling blue waters of Western Port Bay.

The stiff north-westerly breeze, the gusts of which did cause some riders a few problems, did have the useful side-effect of keeping track temperatures a lot more manageable that they might otherwise have been.

One crew that had not got much sleep overnight were the guys twirling spanners for Team America’s Steve Rapp. The 47-year-old took a hefty tumble yesterday with a stuck throttle pitching him and the CMR prepared and FJ1100 powered Yamaha down the road. The bike was a mess, and his mechanics worked through the night in order to repair the machine for today.

As first qualifying for the International got underway just after midday, track temperatures were already starting to nudge their way towards 50-degrees celsius.

That did not stop Aaron Morris dropping in a 1m37.943 on a Suzuki Katana to top the timesheets ahead of David Johhnson, the South Australian recording a 1m38.518 on an XR69 Suzuki.

America’s Josh Hayes proved his pedigree by adapting quickly to the Phillip Island layout to finish Q1 in P3 ahead of Shawn Giles and Jason Pridmore.

Team America have really stepped things up a level in regards to team strength this year. That has helped to partly fill some of the void left by the absence of Team UK and their brace of star riders, along with the beautiful Roger Winfield prepared machinery that had become a much loved staple of the Island Classic. Still, the absence of a credible Team UK is keenly felt and they are sorely missed.

Some riders were suffering carburettor problems in the heat and fuel boiling issues as the oil-air-cooled machinery struggled to maintain their composure in the conditions.

The wind picked up much more force in the afternoon and switched to a south-westerly. This was met with sighs of relief by everyone up and down pit-lane as it helped to take the sting out of the heat and temperatures started dropping back to a much more manageable 28-degrees.

Ahead of the second and final International Challenge qualifying session Aaron Morris took to the circuit again to claim pole in the New Era Formula 1300 category with a 1m37.685. Before that final International Challenge Qualifying was to get underway though we had some races on the schedule.

Pre-War / 125 P-CL & FE / 250 P-CL and Classic

The opening race of the 2019 Island Classic was the combined Pre-War, 125 Post Classic & Forgotten Era, 250 Post Classic and Classic.

The somewhat strange combination forced by a limited number of entries across these categories.

Murray Seabrook and Roly Orr quickly broke away from the pack on their 1972 Yamaha TD3 machines but Seabrook then ran off the track at turn four and his chance of a race win went down the slip road with him. Terry Morris recovered from a bad start to chase down Roly Orr and by lap two was tussling with Orr for the lead. A mistake by Orr on the final lap gave Morris the advantage he needed to take the win at the chequered flag.

Pre-War / 125 P-CL & FE / 250 P-CL & CL R1 Results
  1. Terry Morris
  2. Roly Orr +0.256
  3. Greg Roberts +43.765
  4. Lorraine Crussell +45.991
  5. Marco Vittino +61.047
  6. Bruce Meredith +66.482 (2CL)
  7. Fred Schafer +67.535 (2CL)
  8. John Imrie +73.140 (2CL)
  9. Ben James +84.528
  10. Stacey Heaney +85.674 (1PC)
250 FE / 125 New Era / 350 Classic

Lachlan Hill started the combined 250 Forgotten Era, 125 New Era and 350 Classic from pole position on his Rotax powered machine that is backed by Ron Angel Classic Racing. Hill immediately streaked away from the field and was in a class of his own onboard that machine.

R2 – 250 FE / 125 New Era / 350 CL R1 Results
  1. Lachlan Hill (2FE)
  2. James Doddrell +3.117 (1NE)
  3. Mark Laing-Hughes +19.077 (1NE)
  4. Grant Boxhall +21.870 (2FE)
  5. Ben Bramich +21.998 (3CL)
  6. David Manson +36.290 (1NE)
  7. Phil Paton +37.092 (3CL)
  8. Robert Heather +60.276 (2FE)
  9. Colin Meredith +105.239 (3CL)
  10. Ross Hollands +1 lap (3CL)
500 Forgotten Era & Unlimited Post Classic

This one was shaping up to be a much closer battle with little separating Dean Oughtred on a CR750 Honda and Tom Bramich on the Ron Angel baked Paton during qualifying.

It was the indomitable Laurie Fyffe though that scored the holeshot on his CB750 Honda.

Beau Beaton’s Irving Vincent has suffered numerous problems which had led to a poor qualifying performance but the big booming Melbourne built machine was quickly into the lead and streak away from its pursuers. If anyone would know how to ride it defensively though it would be Beau Beaton, who was now in his tenth year of ridiing the Horner built machines, would it hang together for the four-lap race distance…?

Hang together it did and Beaton rewarded his crews efforts with a clear win over Dean Oughtred by over ten seconds while Simon Cook got the better of Laurie Fyffe to round out the Unlimited Post Classic podium.

In the 500 Forgotten Era sub-category it was Tom Bramich on the Paton BM3 who claimed the win from Keo Watson and Chris Hayward. Bramich had also claimed an outright podium ahead of the Unlimited Post Classic bikes of Cook and Fyffe.

500 FE & Unlimited Post Classic R1 Results
  1. Beau Beaton
  2. Dean Oughtred +10.589
  3. Tom Bramich +13.414 (5FE)
  4. Simon Cook +27.751
  5. Keo Watson +28.576 (5FE)
  6. Laurie Fyffe +31.092
  7. Chris Hayward +31.478 (5FE)
  8. Jock Woodley +36.609 (5FE)
  9. Steven Brown +36.755 (5FE)
  10. Robert Wallace +42.964

Unlimited Forgotten Era Premier

Beau Beaton was quickly back in action after his victory in the Unlimited Post Classic to take another win in the Unlimited Forgotten Era category.

He had to work harder for this one though as Marty Craggill made life hard for Beaton with Craig Ditchburn also dipping his TZ750 oar in from time to time.

In fact Ditchburn managed to get the better of Craggill late in the race to take second place. Glenn Hindle was fourth ahead of Bernie Leen and Justin Mellrick while young Drew Sells took seventh ahead of Scott Webster.

Unlimited Forgotten Era Premier Race One Results
  1. Beau Beaton
  2. Craig Ditchburn +0.860
  3. Marty Craggill +1.027
  4. Glenn Hindle +14.472
  5. Bernie Leen +15.769
  6. Justin Mellrick +16.508
  7. Drew Sells +17.307
  8. Scott Webster +18.725
  9. Duncan Coutts +23.951
  10. Steve Stanwix +27.557
  11. David Crussell +29.073
  12. Matthew Ineson +36.061
  13. Martin Hodgson +36.089
  14. Denis Ackland +38.450
  15. Albert Tehennepe +43.463

Unlimited Forgotten Era Minor

Due to a massive entry list in the Unlimited Forgotten Era class the field had been separated in to two with the slower machines in the field put into another sub-category. Pete Byers the victor ahead of Dave Fuller and Dan Sandler.

Unlimited Forgotten Era Minor

  1. Pete Byers
  2. Steve Dobson +10.950
  3. Dave Fuller +16.391
  4. Daniel Sandler +26.237
  5. Bruce Andrew +31.146
  6. Garry Kellalea +31.180
  7. Wade Boyd +36.352
  8. Allen Bromley +41.336
  9. Neil Howard +46.687
  10. Tim Wotton +48.530

International Challenge Final Qualifying

The temperature had dropped quite dramatically ahead of the second and final qualifying session for International Challenge competitors got underway at 1545 on Friday afternoon. This certainly suited not only competitors, but also their tyres, and their machinery.

Jed Metcher certainly welcomed the cooler conditions as his T-Rex Honda Harris had not coped at all well with the more oppressive heat earlier in the day.

IIC Phillip Island Rob Mott Friday Jed Metcher
Jed Metcher

Aaron Morris and Jason Pridmore were the first men to dip into the 1m37s this afternoon.  A 1m37.341 the early benchmark from Morris to Pridmore’s 1m37.642. Those laps stood the test of time to see Morris take pole and Pridmore P2 on the grid for tomorrow’s first International Challenge bout.

IIC Phillip Island Rob Mott Friday Jason Pridmore Josh Hayes
Jason Pridmore and Josh Hayes are the fastest qualifiers for Team USA

Paul Byrne would also score a front row start position courtesy of a 1m38.056 ahead of David Johnson, Jed Metcher and Josh Hayes.

IIC Phillip Island Rob Mott Friday David Johnson
David Johnson

Cam Donald was nowhere to be seen, more problems with the Irving Vincent we believe preventing the two-time Isle of Man TT winner to join the circuit in the second session and having to rely on his 1m44.5s from QP1 for his grid position. That QP1 run had also been troubled for Donald as he managed only two laps and was far from his potential pace.

International Challenge Qualifying Results

  1. Aaron Morris 1m37.341
  2. Jason Pridmore 1m37.642
  3. Paul Byrne 1m38.056
  4. David Johnson 1m38.104
  5. Jed Metcher 1m38.122
  6. Josh Hayes 1m38.202
  7. Beau Beaton 1m38.286
  8. Steve Martin 1m38.454
  9. Shawn Giles 1m38.642
  10. Larry Pegram 1m38.819

500 Post Classic

Tom Bramich quickly cleared out from the field in the 500 Post Classic four lap race to the tune of more than ten-seconds a lap better than any of his competitors. Bramich and the Ron Angel Paton on another level.

500 Post Classic Race One Results

  1. Tom Bramich
  2. Paul Smith _+39.154
  3. Tony Logan +65.198
  4. Eric Salmon +73.832
  5. Brendan Burns +90.453
  6. Danny Ahern +90.932
  7. Dean Marsh +109.076
  8. Shan Nicholas-Oliver +109.184
  9. Ben James +116.495

New Era Formula 750

Son led father in qualifying for the New Era Formula 750 with Scott Campbell besting famous father Malcolm (Wally) Campbell on their pair of beautiful RC30 Hondas. In fact the top four qualifiers were RC30 mounted with Nathan Spiteri also on the front row ahead of James Doddrell.

Scotty also led dad away when the lights went out and pulled away to the tune of more than a second a lap on his way to a clear six-second victory over his father while Nathan Spiteri rounded out the podium.

No luck for Ben Burke in this one as he rolled to a stop at turn one on his CBR400 with two laps to run.

New Era Formula 750 Race One Results

  1. Scott Campbell
  2. Malcolm Campbell +6.075
  3. Nathan Spiteri +9.114
  4. Quentin Blazley +15.446
  5. James Doddrell +18.004
  6. Bernie Leen +19.775
  7. Scott Findlay +26.031
  8. Michael McGuire +35.871
  9. Rob Ruwoldt +37.114
  10. Andrew Relph +37.541

The massive program of qualifying and racing all ran quite smoothly despite the challenging conditions and we actually finished racing at 1630, half-an-hour ahead of schedule. Tomorrow we have a huge program of 22 races beginning at 0900, and then we do it all again on Sunday!

Source: MCNews.com.au