110 amcn.com.au
YOUR FORTNIGHTLY FIXYOURFORTNIGHTLYFIX
Back where it belongs
The Aussies have knocked the Poms off theirperch and
snatchedbackthe AMCN IslandClassic InternationalChallenge
T
royCorser and
Colin Edwards
were theheadline
act at the 2 5th
anniversaryof the
AMCN InternationalIsland
Classicbut Aussie Davo
Johnson stolecentrestageand
the party’s s i l v er w a r e.
He tore the heart out of
Te a m U K w i thfour giant-
killing rides to put Australia
back on top after threeyears
in the wilderness. Then he
prisedJeremy McWilliams’
grip offtheKenWootton
Perpetual Trophy he has made
his own in recentyears to top
theindividualrider’stallyby
asinglepoint.
Australia’s 31-point victory
was well-deserved after agut-wrenching11-point loss
lastyear. Even Team UK chief
Roger Winfield describedthe
result as“good for the event”.
“Davo was magic,” he said.
“He rode a blinder.”
McWilliams,Te a m U K’s
rockofstability, gavea
brutallyhonest assessment
of Johnson’sperformance:
“He made us look silly in Race
Three.”Johnson’sfour-second
runawaywinbiggestmargin
in an International Challenge
racefor severalyears.
Andthiswasonalower-
spec bike than any of the UK’s
frontrunners. Johnson’s bike
was a seven-year-oldSuzuki
XR69 whileMcWilliams’
YamahaFJ1200-powered
version was one of TeamUK’smostrecentmachines.
Backingup Johnson’s
dominance was someheroic
ridesfromformer World
Superbike champion Troy
Corser. Despite qualifying
down thegrid, Corser stormed
throughin all four races
toendupequalthirdwith
team rider Paul Byrneinthe
individual riders’ points tally.
Meanwhile,WorldSBK
champion andformer
MotoGPstarColin Edwards
overcame issues to finish
stronglyinall four races,
bagging eighthin the points.
His effort catapulted Team
USA to 465points and into
thirdplace aheadofTe a m
NewZealand.
The Americans finished1 89 pointsbehindTe a m UK
but thisdoesn’ttellthetrue
story.Ifnotfortwomajor
engineblow-upsfrom star
ridersJason Pridmore and
ZakeZemke,theywould have
been upthere in the final
showdown.
Withjustfour six-lap races
and minimumpractice and
qualifyingsessions, the
InternationalChallenge is
motorcycling’sequivalent of
cricket’s BigBash T20. Success
relies on talent,afearless
beliefthatyou can win and
alittle bit ofluck.
Davo Johnson, the gun for
hire, brought his complete
set ofskillstoPhillipIsland.
Here’s howtheweekend
unfolded.REPORTHAMISH COOPER PHOTOGRAPHYPHIL AYNSLEY188 AA IIIII eeernrnrnaaa ooonananaIIIsIssann Cllssi Phillip Island