Page 121 - Australian Motorcycle News (January 2020)

1. A classic freight train of International Challenge riders at MG corner 2. Steve Martin, last year's highest
points scorer, gets his race face on 3. Dave Crussell (17) pleads with officials to let the field loose for the Race
One restart 4. Cam Donald finished 12th, 10th, 12th and 11th to boost Australia's points tally 5. Melissa Paris had
just mastered the intricacies of racing a TZ750 around Phillip Island when it expired in Race 3 6. Hayes gave a
masterclass in race craft to win the final race, setting up a mighty showdownfor 2021

Classic catches
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KW Trophy winner,
a humble hero
Two wins, a second and a third gave Alex
Phillis a two-point win over Jed Metcher with
Josh Hayes just one point behind in third. “I’m
pumped to win,” said Phillis. “Everyone has their
day at this meeting and this year it was my turn.
We had a good pace all weekend. The fact that
my bike is built more to Period Five than Period
Six means I have a skinny rear tyre that gives me a faster entry speed
that I have to carry through the corners. I made it all work for me this
weekend.”

“We ain’t done yet”
Josh Hayes summed up an ultimately
frustrating weekend. "It was never going to be
easy,” he said. “We built a strong team this year
and came close but we ain’t done yet.” USA team
leader Dave Crussell revealed the battle plan
formulated before the final race. “We had worked
all weekend as a team to get so close. I just said
to them to get in front of any Aussie they could
and just go for it. Ultimately we lost this year but we ended up with
five riders in the top 10 overall. We will be back in 2021.”

The UK’s new focus
Team UK, which included several European
riders in breach of a forthcoming Brexit, had a
world view on the event. “After the years of Team
Winfield we are starting afresh,” said leader
Tony Hart. “This year we are racing with true
period bikes. We even had two riders on 80hp
Ducatis who weren’t lapped. Rules are changing
in the UK and Europe to allow 16-valve Yamaha
engines in so we will come back with more competitive bikes built for
more than just one event. Our immediate ambition is to encourage the
5 Kiwis and Irish to return with a mix of professional and club racers.”

6