Jerry & the pacemakers

At Phillip Island, the event is set to eclipse all records.

Dust off your pudding helmets and get ready to soak up a massive dose of racing nostalgia as the 2015 Australian Motorcycle News International Island Classic – featuring more than 300 riders and over 480 historic bikes from the past 70 years – rumbles into Victoria over the Australia Day long weekend, 23-25 January. The annual event, in its 22nd year at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, is the biggest historic bike event in the southern hemisphere and will feature giants of the sport, including Mick Doohan’s and Valentino Rossi’s former crew chief Jeremy Burgess, former MotoGP racer Jeremy McWilliams and 21-time Isle of Man TT winner John McGuinness.

It’s the third largest motorcycling event in Australia, behind the Aussie rounds of the MotoGP and Superbike World Championship, and celebrates the history of motorcycle sport and the engineering of bikes through the ages. More than 20,000 spectators from all over the world are expected to grab the rare opportunity to watch a huge range of unique bikes racing at close quarters and to come face-to-face with racing legends.

All points of the Phillip Island circuit will be open over the weekend – including Siberia, Lukey Heights and Southern Loop – and spectators are encouraged to visit pit garages, chat to racers and to share their love of historic bikes.

Racing classes range from pre-war to Period 6 (up to 1990), while the International Challenge is the main event during the weekend – with 10-rider teams from Australia, the United Kingdom, America and New Zealand battling it out across four hard-fough races to determine the historic champion.

The Aussie team has been victorious since the Challenge began in 2005, although last year the locals had to work up a real sweat to keep their unblemished record intact, as the Jeremy McWilliams-led UK outfit pushed the Aussies to the line.

Click to read about the classic moto man, Jeremy Burgess and download the Need to know details for the International Island Classic weekend. The full article appears in AMCN Vol64 No13 or download the digital version via our Itunesstore.

Island Classic

AMCN 22nd International Island Classic

AMCN 22nd International Island Classic

Brendan Roberts at the IIC

Phillip Island

Steve Martin at the IIC