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AMCMCCNNIIntttternattttioi nalllIIIsllall n Cl i PhillipIslandHe was luckyto finish the
race in ninth,bringinghome
valuable points.
Pridmorewas also aman
on a mission, slicinghis way
up thoughto thefront trio,
setting thefastestlap in the
process. As Corser slipped
back to fifth, McWilliams
triedto repeathis main-
straightmuggingacton
Johnson,but the South
Australianheldhimoff.It
wasn’tuntilLukeyHeights
that McWilliams couldget
the advantage and he held the
lead to the chequered f lag.
Later Johnson revealed
that tyre pressure issueshad
slowedhimatthevitaltime,
a problem that also blighted
Corser,whocamehome in
sixthplace.
Thirdwas Glen Richards,
whohadsurvivedascary
loss ofbrakes tolimphome.Fourth was Pridmore,
shapingas a real threat to the
frontrunners, andByrnefifth.
Edwardsfinished backin 13th
after showingearlyspeed.
So it was Team UK and
Australia tiedonpoints with
Te a m US A s uddenlylooking
capable of bringingthe fight
to both.
RaceTwosoonturnedinto
theDavoandJezza show, a
gameofbluff,blockpasses
and balls-out slipstreaming.
Behindthem came one of
thosegoodold90sSuperbike
freight trains, with Corser
runningin third and Edwards
in sixthlookingfor a way
through. Five bikes together
suddenly became seven,
while upfront McWilliams
very nearlyendedhis perfect
history ofracefinishes on
theexitfromTurn Fouron
the final lap. Asked later if itwas an“out ofseat”or“out
of body”experiencehesaid:
“I don’t remember. Ifyou
think about thosemoments
you would neverget on a
motorcycle again.” Slowed
by his potentialhighsideand
an engine that suddenlylost
power at Siberia, but chimed
back into life at the Hayshed,
McWilliams was eventually
overtakenbyRichards.
“As soon as it lost power I
thought I’d betterget out of
theway,”hesaidin reference
to therow ofridersbehind
him. However, Richards had
his ownproblems.
“ThebrakeissueinRace
Oneknockedmy confidence
andtherewasnowayIwas
goingto suddenlyblast past
Jeremyand take us both out,”
hesaid.When thesmoke
cleared from the freight
train the finishing orderwas Pridmore, Edwards and
Corser, with Beaton farther
back followed byZemke, Steve
Martin andLinfoot.
Australia was only six
points ahead of Team UK
with Team USAjust 47 points
adrift. There would beno
plain sailingfor thethree top
teamsin RaceThree.
Another day,another
set ofchallengesdawned
on Sunday. Relativelymild
weather was quicklyturning
to furnace-like heat for the
finalday’sracing.Asthetrack
temperatures soared,the
teamsformedforRaceThree.
Corser’s temperature hit
theredline ashewasforced
tostartfrom pitlane,despite
arrivingat the exit as the rest
of thegridwasstillinsight
aroundthe Southern Loop.
Whentheracestarted he
swept through the cones ontoOne of those 90s Superbike freight trains