IC set to be a classic

The three-way battle for International Challenge honours at this weekend's Island Classic is shaping up to be a beauty, with the final teams fighting towards a New Zealand, American or Australian victory confirmed.

It's a 16-strong rider line-up in the Aussie corner and what the squad lacks in outright numbers it more than makes up for in talent, with last year's standout competitor and international road racing star David Johnson leading the charge aboard a Suzuki XR69.

Another big name of road racing, Cam Donald, will be pulling his leathers on to help Australia's title defence campaign riding Irving Vincent machinery alongside last year's Ken Wootton Perpetual Trophy winner, Beau Beaton.

Former international road racer Jed Metcher will be campaigning a Rex Wolfenden-prepared Honda Harris F1, Aussie greats Shawn Giles and Aaron Morris will be riding Suzuki Katanas, as will former endurance ace Steve Martin.

While not officially all Kiwis, the New Zealand squad is fielding probably the strongest line-up ever in this year's event, with Australia's Alex Phillis and British journalist Michael Neeves opting to support the NZ team in 2019, this year made up of 15 riders.

Former World Superbike rider John Reynolds and New Zealand young gun Jay Lawrence will form the three-rider Carl Cox Motorsport-supported team alongside Neeves, with both Reynolds and Neeves given dispensation to campaign GSX-R1100 machinery which falls just shy of Period 6 eligibility, given they adhere to some performance restrictions.

And while Team USA is missing its big name of previous years in Colin Edwards, the 17-rider squad out to win the coveted trophy is a broad and deep pool of talent. As well as AMA road racing legend Josh Hayes (Yamaha FJ1250), the likes of Jason Pridmore and Larry Pegram will also be campaigning four-cylinder Yamahas.

Australian ex-pat and US-based journalist Rennie Scaysbrook (Suzuki XR69) has also added his name to the American entry list for 2019. He's a fast and versatile racer whose experience around the Australian circuit is sure to bode well for the Yanks this year.

International Challenge action kicks off with qualifying just before midday on Friday, January 25, with the first of the four feature races roaring off about the same time the following day. There'll be on-track action from 9am through to 5pm on all three days, with two International Challenge events held on Saturday as well as two on Sunday.

For more information and pre-event ticket sales, head to www.islandclassic.com.au.