Another knockout IFoS
QBE International Festival of Speed
23-25 March, 2018 – Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW
It was always going to be a hard act following the fabulously successful 2017 IFoS, but the 2018 running was every bit as good, even in the face of some challenging weather. Thursday’s free practice day and some of Friday’s Qualifying took place in damp conditions, but perfect weather returned for the weekend. However the dry track seemed to inspire some riders to push the envelope, with 40 accidents recorded and a lengthy delay on Saturday when the medical centre filled to capacity. The numerous stoppages and track clean-ups resulted in the programme falling well behind schedule, but the officials did a remarkable job to complete the day’s events before the curfew. After a stern talking to at the riders’ briefing, Sunday’s racing was relatively incident-free, in front of a very healthy crowd. As well as some superb racing, the crowd was treated to a colourful paddock area full of trade displays and accessory outlets. As always at this event, there were standout performances throughout the race card. Aaron Morris continued where he left off one year ago, cleaning up the Period 6 QBE Superbike Shootout with a perfect score of four wins, defeating former GP star Jeremy McWilliams on each occasion. In the Period 5 Shootout, the multi-talented Beau Beaton took home the gold, as he did in the Period 4 Unlimited and in the Period 5 Sidecar class, with Noel Beare in the chair. A busy boy, was Beau. From a field of nearly 50, Lachlan Hill won the P6 250 GP class, and Glen Kelleher the 250 Production, which was run concurrently. Hill also took out the P5 350. Michael Blair had a successful weekend, winning the P5 750 class on his TZ750 Yamaha and the P5 500 on his TZ350. But perhaps the clashes off the weekend occurred in
each of the combined P3 500 and P4 750 events, where Aaiden Coote’s bellowing Triumph Trident battled mightily with Peter Lodge’s pushrod Norton 500 single, ridden superbly by New Zealand young gun Daniel Mettam. Every contest was a thriller, even though the pair was contesting separate classes, the honour of taking the chequered flag first was all-important. After five incredible rounds, the score was 3-2 Mettam’s way. To celebrate 30 years of World Championship Superbikes, the organisers assembled some of the legends of the sport, including our own champions Troy Corser and Troy Bayliss, along with Jeremy McWilliams, Steve Parrish, Pierfrancesco Chili, Chris Vermeullen and Kevin Magee. The International Festival of Speed has established itself as perhaps the premier event of its type in the Southern hemisphere, and everyone now eagerly awaits the announcement of the theme for the 2019 event.
For complete race results, see www.computime.com.au and also visit www.oldbikemag.com.au and watch our short video of the event.