The 2012 Island Classic at Phillip Island (d’uh) is shaping up to be one of the most exciting ever. With an entry list of over 200 riders (and over 350 machines) plus an expected spectator turn-out of over 20000, it should be one of the biggest road racing events on the 2012 calendar in any category.
As well as all the usual races for bikes from pre-WW1 to the early 90’s, the Classic is renowned for the International Teams Challenge, a series of races that pits the best from Australia against aUK team and a Rest of the World team. As usual, the Aussie team looks formidable and should win, again.
Steve Martin AUST Suzuki Katana 1981
Shawn Giles AUST Suzuki Katana 1982
Cameron Donald AUST Suzuki XR69 1981
Robbie Phillis AUST Suzuki Katana 1982
Beau Beaton AUST Irving Vincent 1978
Scott Webster AUST Kawasaki Moto-Martin 1980
Laurie Fyffe AUST Suzuki GSX1100 1980
Leo Cash AUST Suzuki Katana 1982
Albert Tehennepe AUST Kawasaki Z1000J 1982
Peter Mizzi AUST HondaCB1100R 1982
Stuart Loly AUST Suzuki GSX 1980
Andrew Lind AUST Kawasaki Z1000 1977
Robert Ruwoldt AUST Kawasaki Z1000 1980
John Pace AUST Suzuki Katana 1982
Karl Corpe AUST Kawasaki ZIR 1980
Malcolm Campbell AUST TBC
The UK team will be led by Ex-pat Englishman and President of the NSW PCRA, Keith Higgs and will be a strong contender.
Jim Agombar UK Yamaha TZ750 Spondon 1979
Andy Bailey UK Kawasaki Harris 1981
William Gougy UK Yamaha TZ 750 1976
Phil Davenport UK Honda POM 1981
Craig Ditchburn UK Yamaha TZ750 1978
Ryan Farquhar UK Harris F1 1981
Keith Higgs UK P&M Kawasaki TTF1 1978
Jeremy McWilliams UK Harris F1 1981
Richard Peers-Jones UK Yamaha TZ9 1980
Graham Salter UK Moriwaki Suzuki GSX1100 1980
David Taylor UK Suzuki GS1000 1979
Clive Warner UK Yamaha TZ 1979
Dave Woolams UK Suzuki GSX1100 1980
Barry Ditchburn UK Yamaha TZ 750 1977
And the RotW team is also strong.
Russell Barker NZ Suzuki GSX1100 1982
Kevin Grey NZ Suzuki McIntosh BRI 1982
Andrew MacDonald NZ Yamaha RDLC 1980
David Ogden NZ Yamaha TZ F 1979
Tony Osman NZ Yamaha TZ350F 1979
Trevor Taylor NZ Yamaha TZF 1979
Glenn Kelleher AUST Honda CB900FZ 1979
Paul Remaud France Suzuki GSX1100 1980
Roger Gunn AUST Suzuki Katana 1980
James McKay USA Suzuki GS1100S 1979
Ed Haazar USA Suzuki Katana 1982
Glenn Crutchley AUST Kawasaki Z1000 1981
Bob Marriner AUST Honda CB1100R 1981
Glenn Carroll AUST Kawasaki Z650 1977
Steve Ward AUST Honda CB 1980
Made up of some Aussies and mostly Kiwis, the RotW is bolstered by two highly-regarded AFM competitors from the west coast of the USA, Ed Haazer and James (Jim) McKay. Yes, THAT Ed Haazer who has been such an encouragement to the Shadowfax project.
I’ll be heading down on Tuesday so that I can spend as much time with Ed and his team and hopefully warn him about drop bears and hide-behinds before the locals corrupt him completely.
I’ll take the laptop and hopefully post reports as the weekend transpires. I can’t wait.
Oh, and thanks to two of my regular readers who pointed out all the broken links in my Shadowfax posting last night. Editing late at night is not a good idea!