We talk to Alex Phillis – It’s been a year of ups and downs for you so far. We know you intended to be riding an Aprilia in the ASBK series, but recently tested a Yamaha at Winton. Can you bring everyone up to date?

Our season started in New Zealand this year riding an MV Agusta 675 F3 for Rod Price. Then came the Island Classic, which is a track I know well, and we had a good run there and raised a bit of awareness.

I spoke to Steve Mudford, who does the chassis and suspension on the Irving Vincent. He had a bike he wanted to run in ASBK and we finally got the go ahead from Aprilia to race the opening Phillip Island ASBK round – but after that, they had to focus their attention on other things in their business. We didn’t get to pursue that opportunity as much as we would have liked, but it was a great opportunity from Steve. The Aprilia surely had the potential but it needed a lot more work.

How did the Yamaha deal come about? Everyone was really surprised to see you turn up at the Winton test.

My brother-in-law, Jordan, who was running Josh Waters on the Yamaha at the end of last year, had a bike but not really a solo budget to run the team. So we did some digging, got some support together, and everything came together within two weeks. We had heaps of help from Yamaha and YRD, who were really keen to see the project go ahead.

I think we have decent pace on the Yamaha, and it’s good to throw my leg over a bike that’s established in the championship. The secret at the next round will be for us is to get a good qualifying lap in – I’m always known for being able to race a lot faster than my qualifying pace. Winton isn’t an easy track to pass on, so I’m aiming for the first or second row. A top five would be a total highlight, but top 10 is where I want to be.

Your team now is based on family and friends. Who are the main people helping you out?

Jordan Coote, who ran Apex Motorsport last year, is the team’s main sponsor under his company Apex Civil Constructions. David ‘Radar’ Cullen has been helping me, I worked with him in the Australian championship in 2015 and again in New Zealand. Also he was my dad’s [Robbie] mechanic in the world championship. Between us we’re doing all the chassis work and bike set-up, but it really comes down to Jordan. He directs everything at the track and has a really good idea of how things need to work, plus a really good motivation to keep things running smoothly.

Jordan is also my boss at work, so it’s not easy. He’s invested in this in more ways than one, so we all have to try and find a way to make things work. Jordan has always supported me, even in my days racing in Europe.

You’ve also got some exciting news for the rest of the year, but it means you’ll miss the ASBK Darwin round. Tell us what’s happening there.

I’m going to do two rounds of Moto America in July with the MV Agusta we were riding in New Zealand. Rod [Price] has been in contact with the factory Reparto Corse team and sourced a factory-built MotoAmerica-spec engine so things are looking good. MV Agusta in the US is helping out and we will also have Dave [Cullen] and Phil Purdue on the mechanical side.

Unfortunately that means we will miss Darwin, but we’d already missed the Wakefield Park round. At this stage it’s about proving we can put a good team together and compete with the best guys in the championship moving into 2018.

So did the whole Moto America idea come about from the time you spent in New Zealand?

Yeah, it was from Rod Price, who owns the bike, and he is from Helicraft Engineering, who are also a major sponsor. He is from New Zealand and used to race with my dad in the 70s and 80s. Dad spent some time with him a few years ago and he still has some classic bikes.

The whole team in New Zealand is a bunch of old friends from that racing era. Whenever we go racing there it’s more about the good times with friends. It’s great to grab good results, but
it’s more about the people than the show.

It’s now a pretty ambitious year. Hopefully America works out.