David Johnson took a win and a second away from the opening two 218 Phillip Island Classic races today giving Australia a slender lead over defending champions Great Britain.

With two of the four races complete in the cut-throat event, Australia are just six points in front of the UK (341 to 335), while the much-improved America is third on 288pts ahead of fourth-placed New Zealand on 174pts.

Australia, desperate to snap the UK’s three-year hold on the MV Agusta International Challenge, was best served by Johnson (Suzuki) on day one, with the South Australian polesitter finishing second and first in the two six-lap races.

Johnson leads the individual standings in front of UK top guns Jeremy McWilliams (Yamaha, 1-3) and Glen Richards (Yamaha, 3-2), followed by American Jason Pridmore (Yamaha, 4-4) in his first visit to the majestic grand prix circuit.

“It feels awesome,” said Johnson. “In the first race we had a few problems with tyre pressures and the back end of the bike, but we fixed it in the second one and I was able to lap a lot more consistently.

“I knew a few spots where I was quicker than Jeremy in race two, and I had to try and capitalise on that. On the penultimate lap I looked behind and saw a train of English riders and thought ‘shit!’, so I knew I had to cover my lines and also stay with Jeremy.

“So I busted my arse to stay with him and then I got him at Honda (turn four), which was my plan the whole time.

“I tried to block pass him and he tried to cut back and lost the back end. That gave me a bit of a gap but I was still covering like mad until the end of the race.”

McWilliams’ last lap mistake also allowed Richards to sneak into second place, but the Northern Irishman was at least able to maintain his 100 per cent finishing record in the International Challenge that dates back to 2011.

Race one

McWilliams started off his Phillip Island Classic campaign in the best possible way by storming to victory in the opening six-lap race.

Johnson made full advantage of his pole position, leading for the first three laps. However it wasn’t McWilliams who was giving him the hurry up in the first part of the race, it was double World Superbike champion Troy Corser, who got an absolute blinder of a start from 12th on the grid.

Corser, who riding Rex Wolfenden’s Yamaha FJ1200, as the Honda Harris F1 machine had gearbox issues and was too dangerous to ride looked as if he was going to be the man to possibly steal the thunder from everyone in the race. However, on three Corser slipped down to fourth place after both McWilliams and Peter Hickman got by the 46-year-old Australian.

From lap three the race was on with McWilliams snapping at Johnson’s heals. The race winning move came on the fourth lap when McWilliams got by Johnson before the Heyshead.

McWilliams managed to get slightly around the outside of Johnson on the exit of Siberia and got pass him before the exit of the Hayshed. McWilliams did also have a cheeky go at Johnson into turn one, but Johnson managed to get back by him.

“I really didn’t expect to win the first race, but luckily it just came through for me,” said McWilliams, who messed up the start a little and had to fight his way through.

“Troy got a blinding start and got up the inside of me at turn one and I thought he was going to be the man to beat. However it looked like he was having a few grip issues.”

McWilliams now has 25 top three finishes from 29 starts in the International Challenge and told bikesportnews.com after race one that he was just ‘delighted’ to get a race win under his belt.

“While the race win is good, it’s all about the teams points. For Glen [Richards] to finish third on the line was a great effort. It’s all about gathering points now. We’ll sit down now and look where we are in terms of the teams challenge,” concluded McWilliams.

Richards rounded out the top three, beating AMA Superbike legend Jason Pridmore in a drag race to the line by a mere .013 seconds, while Paul Byrne, who started from third on the grid completed the top five. Rounding out the top ten saw Corser, Daniel Linfoot, Jake Zemke, Hickman, and Steve Martin.

Saturday results

Race one results – MV Agusta International Challenge
1. Jeremy McWilliams UK
2. David Johnson AUS
3. Glen Richards UK
4. Jason Pridmore USA
5. Paul Byrne AUS
6. Troy Corser AUS
7. Daniel Linfoot UK
8. Jake Zemke USA
9. Peter Hickman UK
10. Steve Martin AUS

Race two results – MV Agusta International Challenge
1. David Johnson AUS
2. Glen Richards UK
3. Jeremy McWilliams UK
4. Jason Pridmore USA
5. Colin Edwards USA
6. Troy Corser AUS
7. Beau Beaton AUS
8. Jake Zemke USA
9. Steve Martin AUS
10. Daniel Linfoot UK

MV AGUSTA INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE – TEAM POINTS SCORE AFTER TWO RACES
1 AUSTRALIA 341
2. UK 335
3. USA 288
4. NZ 174

MV AGUSTA INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE – INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS AFTER TWO RACES
1. David Johnson AUS 79
2. Jeremy McWilliams UK 78
3. Glen Richards UK 77
4. Jason Pridmore USA 74
5. Troy Corser AUS 70
6. Jake Zemke USA 66
7. Paul Byrne AUS 66
8. Daniel Linfoot UK 65
9. Colin Edwards USA 64
10. Beau Beaton AUS 63