2019 ISLAND CLASSIC
P86
Feature
were mapped on), put a temporary
halt to over two decades of British-
Australian rivalry.
Team UK's absence from the
2019 event opened the door for
Team USA to really step up to the
plate and challenge home team
Australia. In 2018, Team USA had its
best year ever, finishing third with its
own MotoGP star, Colin Edwards,
heading a side that also fielded
Jake Zemke and Jason Pridmore.
This year, both Edwards and
Zemke were absent from the entry
list, but Team USA fielded their
strongest lineup to date with Josh
Hayes, Larry Pegram, Steve Rapp,
Michael Gilbert, Dale Quarterly
and Mark Miller joining incumbent
Pridmore and team captain Dave
Crussell in the side.
For the Australians, their team
would be headed by former Endur-
ance World Champion Steve Martin,
three-time ASBK Champion Shawn
(Above) An Australian resident,
International superstar DJ Carl Cox
in now seriously invested in southern
hemisphere motorcycle racing,
sponsoring the New Zealand team as
well as many other riders in different
series across the globe.
Giles, Isle of Man TT stars David
Johnson and Cameron Donald,
former WorldSSP rider Jed
Metcher and rookie Aaron Mor-
ris, who would stun the field with
the opening two wins and by
circulating in the 1:36s bracket—
only six seconds slower than
what MotoGP riders can do at
Phillip Island—on a 35-year-old
Suzuki Katana.
Team New Zealand was a
mix of nationalities (Island Clas-
sic rules dictate you don't need
to race for your home country
if you don't want), with ASBK
factory rider Alex Phillis from
Australia, three-time British Su-
perbike Champion John Reyn-
olds, MCN Chief Road Tester
Michael Neeves and Kiwi Isle
of Man TT racer Jay Lawrence
making up a smaller team than
either the USA or Australia.
The machines raced by all
three competing nations in the
International Challenge were
but silhouettes of their former
selves. Indeed, in the case of
many of the motorcycles from
