The UNITED KINGDOM team has thrown down the gauntlet for the International Challenge at the 2018 AMCN International Island Classic, announcing it will field one of its most competitive teams yet in a bid to claim the coveted trophy for a fourth successive year.

With John McGuinness still sidelined due to the injuries he sustained in this year’s North West 200, and Conor Cummins also out of the 2018 event, the Jeremy McWilliams-led team has drafted in three new stars into the line-up, all of them road racing legends in their own right.

Michael Rutter will be the biggest name making his Island Classic debut. The 45-year-old has 14 North West 200 wins to his name as well as five TT wins and eight wins at the Macau Grand Prix. The British Superbike Championship veteran will be riding a Yamaha Harris F1 machine.

Rutter will be joined by two more debutantes – three-time North West 200 winner Lee Johnston (Yamaha Harris F1) and British Superbike star Dan Linfoot (Honda Harris F1). The team will be completed by the hugely talented Peter Hickman, Glen Richards, Derek Brown, Craig Ditchburn and Michael Neeves.