PHILLIP ISLAND
CLASSIC 2019
WORDS & PHOTOS: WAYNE COCKBURN
he Island Classic, celebrating a century
of motorbikes, features old Indians,
Nortons and Vincents through to vintage
Triumphs, Harleys and Ducatis. There were
six historic categories from pre-WW1 bikes
through Vintage (1920-1945), Classic and Post
Classic (from 1946 to 1972) and the more
recent Forgotten Era and New Era classes
fighting for class honours and the Phil Irving
Perpetual Trophy.
Now, I’m not sure it’s every writer’s dream
to cover an event where the Aussies beat the
Kiwis... and, to be fair, it’s bloody tough putting
pen to paper and trying to find an angle on
the story. But in my case, as an expat Kiwi
living in Melbourne these days, it’s always a
real treat when a Kiwi team crosses the ditch
to take on the Aussies. It’s even better when
that team is sporting the silver fern on classic
race motorcycles as was the case at the 2019
International Island Classic. And even though
the Aussies did take the win, the Kiwis didn’t go
down without a real fight.
Taking place at the legendary Phillip Island
Circuit, the 2019 International Island Classic
coincided with the hottest January on record
in Victoria. Temperatures over the weekend
never dropped below 18°C all weekend (yep,
that was our overnight low) which made for
some challenging conditions in Friday practice,
where air temperatures soared above 44°C.
Most riders were very keen to quickly part
company with their leathers at the conclusion
The 26th International Island
Classic, held over January
24-26, is one of the worlds’
great historic bike meets,
attracting over 450 bikes and
riders from across the globe,
competing in 56 races.
of their sessions.
With the absence of an official UK Team,
Team New Zealand pounced on the
opportunity and brought in some big name
honorary Kiwis for the weekend in the form of
Michael Neeves (UK) and John Reynolds (UK)
to join the team of 15 riders, including Kiwi
Jay Lawrence who was to be reunited with
his 1981 Suzuki Katana that he debuted on at
the 2018 Classic TT. Along with Neeves and
Reynolds, Team NZ were joined by Aussie rider
Alex Phillis.
Lawrence was buoyant going into the event. “I
know I go alright when the conditions are right.
I’m fairly confident rolling into this meeting
that we’ve got a very competitive package.
It’ll be interesting to see how we stack up
against the bigger names in the team and the
competition overall.”
Fresh in from the UK, Lawrence’s team mates
John Reynolds (of BSB and WSBK fame) and
Michael Neeves (Motor Cycle News) were on
board a pair of 1985 GSX-Rs that required
special dispensation from race organisers and
competing teams due to being just outside
the age limit of the class. The opportunity to
see world class riders, such as John Reynolds
aboard bikes ridden by the legendary Michael
Dunlop around the TT Course on a circuit that
Reynolds describes as “the best in the world”
most certainly contributed to the granting of
this dispensation from the organisers and
opposition teams.
KIWI RIDER 111