Team Britain win the Phillip Island Classic

Farquhar wins Ken Wootton Perpetual Trophy as highest points scorer

TEAM Britain won the AMCN International Phillip Island Classic on Sunday thanks to Ryan Farquhar and consistency from the whole team. 

Farquhar led Team Britain to the top after finishing four six-lap races with the highest individual points score of 141, on the Roger Winfield Harris Yamaha F1. He finished eighth, fourth, sixth and fifth in the four races.

The Northern Irish racer also claimed the Ken Wootton Perpetual Trophy as the highest point scorer.

Australian Brendan Roberts had looked close to claiming the trophy, but ran off at Doohan Corner on the final lap and failed to finish. 

Ramsey man Conor Cummins finished with a total of 139 points which, combined with Jeremy McWilliams’ 138, meant they went on to win the Tahbilk International Challenge title.

Farquhar said: 'This is all a bit of a shock really. Race four was really all about playing the team game, but in the latter stages I knew what the equation was and I just really put my head down.

'The victory hasn’t really sunk in yet, but if you ask me about midnight tonight I’m sure I will have come to grips with it all by then.'

Team Britain, which also included Isle of Man TT legend John McGuinness and Mike 'Spike' Edwards, won by a 42 point lead over the Australian team’s 617 points. America finished in third and New Zealand fourth with 347 points.

McWilliams, who claimed two pole positions, said: 'This is a great day for the UK team, and understandably there’s a fair bit of emotion in the pits at the moment.

'The International Challenge is extremely tough and you’ve got to be there in every race. This weekend, we had solid riders and solid equipment and we proved to be more reliable when it counted.

'But we still had our fair share of issues, but to get past those headaches and take the victory is an absolutely sensational result. And congratulations must also go to Ryan, who was incredible all weekend.'

  • Sign up for Visordown's weekly newsletter, Bugsplat, to get the best motorcycle news, road tests and features plus exclusive competitions and offers direct to your inbox. Register as a Visordown member here and tick the box for Bugsplat in your newsletter settings here.