PHILLIS STUNS AT ISLAND CLASSIC AS
AMERICANS GET FASTER
A
lex Phillis, son of Australian road racing legend
Robbie "Mr. Superbike" Phillis, and British ris-
ing star Peter Hickman turned the biggest classic
race meeting in the Southern Hemisphere—the
annual Island Classic at Phillip Island—on its head.
Riding a Suzuki XR69, 22-year-old Phillis
denied ex-GP racer Jeremy McWilliams a clean
sweep of the meeting on the way to his first win in
any category at Phillip Island, January 28-29.
Despite his win in the last leg of the four-leg
International Challenge, Team UK won overall for
the third year in a row. By it was only by just 11
points after an ugly highside by team newcomer
Hickman nearly ended it for the Brits.
It was only consistency by Conor Cummins that
denied Australia a win they so desperately sought.
Team Ireland was the joker in the pack with
their two top riders, Paul Byrne and Derek Sheils,
regularly finishing in the top 10.
Team U.S. upped the ante this year to repeat its
inaugural victory last year over Team New Zea-
land. In a strong indication of their future potential,
Pat Mooney showed speed and consistency to
finish 12th overall in the riders points table, and
IN
THE
WIND
P42
Ex-GP racer Jeremy McWilliams (99) led
Team UK to its third win in a row.
