This event has everything – there is kick arse action on track and off track it’s almost as exciting! Things such as free pit access where the fans get to rub shoulders with some of the best riders in the world and check out some serious bike porn in the pits too. Not only is bike porn in the pits, it’s also in the parking area as well, where fans gets to park their pre 1990 non-competition motorcycle pride and joy close to the pit area and turn it into a ‘showroom like parking lot’. 

On the Sunday afternoon they even get to do a demonstration lap in the Shannons Parade Lap show as well and a welcome return was trade alley in the back of the paddock where you could buy official Island Classic merchandise. 

Another big-ticket item is the Saturday night welcome dinner with Sir Alan Cathcart interviewing all the main players including UK’s new star recruit, John McGuiness. Even Alan Cathcart thinks this event is amazing, saying, “I have been coming to the Island Classic on and off for the past ten years. It’s been fantastic to see how it has grown. Having the International Challenge was a brilliant idea. The whole event is a great success.”

In regards to the International Teams Challenge, if you’re wondering what that is all about, well, in simple terms it is a fiercely contested weekend which sees Australia V the Yanks V the Kiwis V the Poms, all going hammer and tongs to score top points to win for their country. For individual honours, riders were all battling it out to win the Ken Wootton memorial trophy and the famous Karen ‘Nurse’ Wootton’s homemade chocolate brownies.

2014 saw UK’s best line up of riders that were ready to rock and roll and go toe-to-toe with the Aussie riders and the other two teams. They brought an army of their best riders such as ex 250/500cc GP star Jeremy McWilliams, Gary Johnson and Mike ‘Spike’. At the eleventh hour, Irishman Ryan Farquhar was called in to replace Steve Brogan because of family commitments. But the biggest name to make the headline act was without a doubt, the man from Morecambe, Lancashire, 41-year old John McGuinness.

The 26-race victor at the Isle of Man TT and an accomplished endurance racer was glad to be back on Australia soil. But when he asked what it was going to be like to race his IOM TT rival Cam Donald, he said, “It’s going to be hard to deal with Cam around here that’s for sure.” “He passed me yesterday and showed me who was the ‘boss’ around Phillip Island. But we will slowly catch up and hopefully towards the end of the weekend we won’t be a million miles away.

“But the likes of Shawn Giles, Steve Martin Robbie Phillis are superfast around here. Even Brendan Roberts. I have experience racing against him in BSB Superstock and he is lighting fast as well. I have a load of respect for all of these guys.” 

The English team may have had their strongest line up of riders, but quite frankly the Aussie team did too… Riders such as the 1999 Australian Superbike and 2009 World Endurance champion Steve Martin, Martin’s teammate Shawn Giles. ‘Mr Superbike’ Robbie Phillis, Tasmania’s Malcolm ‘Wally’ Campbell, Current Australian Superbike racer Beau Beaton, Brendan Roberts and another IOM TT legend, Cam Donald just to name a few.

On track action, well it started off with an Aussie blitz from Donald. From the word go he was the early pace setter in qualifying one and looked like he was going to be the man to catch for the whole weekend. Donald steered his Manta Engineering Suzuki XR69 to a 1:38.368 in the 15-minute opening qualifying session, just 0.403s faster than countryman Beau Beaton on the K.H. Equipment/Austart Air Starters Irving Vincent. 

In qualifying two however it was McWilliams (Team Winfield) who got the upper hand snaring pole position over Donald by .017sec! Giles rounded out the front row. McWilliams kept his form going in the two opening racers on Saturday beating Donald who played second fiddle to him in both racers. Race two was nothing short of a bell ringer! McWilliams, Donald, Giles and Roberts all battled it out for the whole six laps, and at the end of the race the time difference was just .272 between the four riders!

Race three belonged to Donald as he led from start to finish but it was not made easy as Giles gave chase the whole way. Giles’s team-mate, Roberts finished third while McWilliams had to settle for fourth,with his bike cutting out down the main straight on the first two laps which cost him any chance of victory. With this result it set the stage for an epic battle for the final race of the weekend. Donald was just one slender point ahead of McWilliams with Giles just three points off Donald.

In the most stunning outcomes, Roberts pipped McWilliams by the smallest of margins (.004s) to claim second spot behind Giles in race four. The result meant that both Giles and McWilliams finished the International Challenge races on 155-points apiece, and were subsequently declared joint winners – the first time it’s happened since the International Challenge began in 2005. Giles and McWilliams now ‘share’ the Ken Wootton Trophy as the highest individual point scorers in the International Challenge. 

Third place went to Roberts with a 6-4-3-2 result while Beaton was fourth with a 4-6-7-4. Rounding out the top five was McGuinness on the Harris F1 after he strung a 7-8-8-7 result. A pretty impressive result seeing McGuinness did not even sit on the bike till the Thursday at the Island Classic! 

As Australia celebrated Australia Day on Sunday the 26th of January it was quite fitting that Australia retained the International Trophy for the teams challenge award winning it with 692 points on the board from the United Kingdom on 617. New Zealand was third with 367 and America in fourth with 341.

The final word should go to the circuit’s Managing Director, Fergus Cameron. “It’s been a fantastic weekend. The Island Classic took another step forward this year. It was always going to be hard to follow on from last year when Giacomo Agostini came out. But the International Challenge and the other entire racing certainly served it up. The level of competition is a whole lot fiercer. To have John McGuinness out here this year has been great, he has already told me that he will be back again next year for sure. This event is magnetic. People, who want to get involved, want to stay in involved. And believe me the American’s will come back next year a whole lot stronger as well.”

The post Events: The International Island Classic appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

There is just so much going on, it’s a must-see event that rivals the Phillip Island Classic in numbers despite being a celebration of classic motorcycling rather than a race meeting. Exact crowd numbers are unconfirmed but the 8,000 each year mark would be a good estimate. The numbers are high for a reason – there was something on offer for everyone!

With a road race circuit, speedway circuit, motocross track, dirt track and trials area at the Broadford complex, all disciplines of pre 1989 motorcycle were covered. There were also trade stands catering for all disciplines and clubs on hand for those wanting to join one and the pits were open to the public.

If you wanted to enter as a participant, all you needed was either an MA licence or a day licence and to either pre enter or enter your bike on the day. The classes were Roadbike, Road Racing Bike, Road Racing Sidecar, Dirt Track Solo, MX Pre 1980, MX Pre 1990, Dirt Track Sidecar, MX Sidecar, Enduro, Speedway Solo, Speedway Sidecar and Trials! Something there for everyone! The cost to ride was great value, only $120 at the gate, $100 early bird or $80 super early bird. A road circuit garage was $400 for the weekend but could be shared while pits in the off road area were $100.

Camping was allowed and only $10 per head, including motorhome or tent campers! Sidecar passengers only had to pay $50 and there were heaps of off road sessions all weekend, while tarmac riders got four 15-minute sessions per day – great value. The tarmac groups were split into Road Bikes Novice/Intermediate/Expert, Race Pre 63/75/89, 6 Hour bikes and Sidecars.

Arriving at the event was easy, although the line was huge, pre-entered people such as myself, or those who pre-purchased tickets, had express entry by waiving ticket at security on the front gate/road. Then it was a quick sign in at the main office, where bike numbers/stickers and wristband was collected and that was it for the weekend. 

Getting around was easy, you could ride your bike anywhere as long as you wore a helmet or drive your car, however, it was very crowded so driving and parking was an issue, riding was the better option or walking and taking in the surroundings, which was all a bit too much to take in at once sometimes! 

There was plenty of food available from various stands located around the complex, as well as drink stands selling soft drinks, tea, coffee and plenty of grog at reasonable prices too. BYO was also welcome, which was fantastic, even fires were allowed in steel drums! There was PBBB merchandise for sale as well and everyone got a free showbag on arrival. 

You had to have your bike scrutineered before riding and good riding gear to participate, however, jeans were allowed, which I highly disagree with personally. There was a rider’s briefing each morning at 8:30am to make sure everyone is informed of flag rules and other info and aside from that it was easy going, with plenty of announcements of each upcoming session. Shuttle busses ran throughout the complex from 9:00am to 4:00pm and there was even 24-hour security to ensure all is kept safe. 

On Saturday night there was a huge Gala Dinner with 100 limited tickets sold for $90 each. The dinner was a dress up event hosted by our own [RCBE] contributors Graeme Crosby and Sir Alan Cathcart, with the range of stars also there; it is no wonder it sold out. Renowned Goulburn Valley Chef Bernard Hayes served a 5-Star three-course meal with wines by Tahbilk. Tickets were $95, a great deal, and a great memorable night.

The event was sensational, walking around with the sights and smells of the classic era absolutely consuming. Everywhere one looked there were famous faces – Graeme Crosby, Murray Sayle, Kevin Magee, Shannon Johnson, Alan Cathcart, Steve Butler, John Warrian, John Woodley and even Cam Donald and many more famous racers floating around and riding their old bikes. There were plenty of original Castrol 6 Hour bikes and that was fantastic to see, a highlight seeing Kev Magee on his old Marlborough FZ750 though, for me, that was magical. 

Broadford Bike Bonanza Gallery

The Penrite Broadford Bike Bonanza this year was an amazing event with a great atmosphere and plenty going on… Words: Jeff Ware  Photography: Russell Colvin

The post Events: The Broadford Bike Bonanza appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....