World S u p e r b ik e C h a m p io n s h ip
Round 3 : Phill ip Isla n d, ,o;ostr alia
B y G O RD O N RITCHIE
P HOT OS BY G OLD & G OO SE
PHllUP ISlAND, AUSTRAUA, APR. 22
o r a ra c e meeting wh ich started
ou t a s a re lative ly w a rm and
. p lea sa nt affa ir , th e Phi ll ip Is la n d
World Superbike event soon den igra ted into a test of endurance, temper
and - to a great extent - it became
noth ing more than a game of skillfully
intuitive chanc e .
With a wet S u p e rp o le qualifying
held on a d ry track, high winds of u p
to 40 mph, a nd enough rai n on race
da y to ha ve people planning journeys
home by b o at, th e 2001 vers ion of
th e Phill ip Isl an d ra c e wa s noth ing
sho rt o f a un iq u e e ve nt - sad ly, in
many ways .
Th e po o r we at h er it self w as
ex pec te d , or at least expected in
some fas hion. A whole week of glorious suns hine had b lessed the Island
of Phillip in the run up to the Wo rld
Superbike race , a state of affairs not
often rea d ily appar e nt in th is South -
F
(Above) Ra in, rain go away. Colin
Edwards (1) g ets the jum p o n the field
In the Wo rld Supe rbik e rou nd a1 Ph illip
Is land, leading Troy Corser 13) , Troy
Bayliss (2 1) , Neil Hodgson (10 0 ), Regis
Laconl ISS), Broc Parkes 13 6) and the
rest of the pack In the pouring rain.
(RIght) Edwards was In a class by
himself In the torrid conditions,
winning the one and only Superbike
race held on the day.
14
MAY 2 . 2001 •
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