Image: Russell Colvin.

Australian riders Beau Beaton (Austart Air Starters/K.H. Equipment) and Steve Martin (TBR/D&D/QBE) will start race one this afternoon from first and second place on the grid for the International Island Classic in the Mitchelton Wines International Challenge.

In what was meant to be a fifteen minute qualifying session due to the rain yesterday, the session only lasted around seven minutes after oil was dumped from turn three all the way to turn four, resulting Grant Dalton from New Zealand coming off at Stoner Corner.

Beaton, the 2015 Australasian Pro-Twins/Nakedbike champion completed three laps in total nailing a 1min55.400 lap time aboard the Irving Vincent.

“I was happy to ride yesterday and it was an anonymous decision that some of the other riders didn’t want to ride, so it fell in my court this morning,” said Beaton who rode on full slicks on a semi wet track.

“I went out on track and we had the session to do it this morning and that is what was agreed on, so I don’t think this pole position has been given to me. I had to work for it.”

Beaton believed another four of five minutes the track would have been a lot drier and the times could have dropped another ten seconds as the track was drying out until the red flag was brought out.

Martin was 3.317sec off Beaton’s time and told CycleOnline.com.au that the whole weekend so far has been a bit of a nightmare in regards with the weather and what has happened this morning.

“It’s worked alright for me, but it doesn’t help Australia as Shawn [Giles] is back in seventeenth and Jed [Metcher] didn’t even qualify.”

The 1999 Australian Superbike and 2009 World Endurance Champion regarded his lap as a “nothing.” “It was nothing really. It was just like riding around.”

The top UK rider was Jeremy McWilliams (Team Winfield), who will start from third on the grid after he managed to post a 1min59.051.

McWilliams was surprised that the marshals didn’t spot the oil sooner: “You could have seen the oil from Melbourne,” joked McWilliams.

“I really didn’t know what to do as I knew it was a qualifying session and I was tip-toeing through the oil and then riding fast through the rest of the lap. It was wet and we were on slicks combined with oil on the track and it’s everything that you don’t want.”

Beaton did come flying past McWilliams, which allowed him to tag on the back of him and made the most of it.

Rounding out the top five was McWilliams’ teammate Conor Cummins with Cam Donald on the McIntosh Suzuki rounding out the top five.

Last year’s winner of the Ken Wootton Perpetual Trophy, Ryan Farquhar (Team Winfield) will start from eighth.

Riders affected by the red flag was Aussie star Jed Metcher (T-Rex Racing/Race Center), Irish team captain Mike Meskell, Simon Richards and who all were unable to post a time during qualifying.

2016 International Island Classic
Phillip Island, VIC

International Challenge qualifying results:
1. Beau Beaton (AUS) 1m55.400s
2. Steve Martin (AUS) 1m58.717s
3. Jeremy McWilliams (UK) 1m59.051s
4. Conor Cummins (UK) 1m59.686s
5. Cam Donald (AUS) 2m02.090s
6. Pete Byers (NZ) 2m02.272s
7. John Allen (AUS) 2m02.765s
8. Ryan Farquhar (UK) 2m03.713s
9. Pat Mooney (USA) 2m04.218s
10. Trevor Manley (IRE) 2m05.350s

Click here for detailed results