The 2019 edition of Island Magic has been run for another year, with the popular event providing spectators with a number of great showdowns.
With more than 100 drivers entered across the event’s seven categories, and a variety of impressive vehicles on display at the iconic Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit, it was an event enjoyed by all – especially when it came to the final feature races.
The first category to finish up its weekend at Island Magic was the Speco / VHT Formula Vee Challenge, and it ended up being the race that left everyone’s eyes locked on the picturesque circuit.
Less than one tenth of a second separated the top four drivers, upholding Phillip Island’s reputation as one of the great open-wheel circuits. Nothing could split the top two placers in Davin Field and Reef McCarthy.
Racing side-by-side the whole race, Field and McCarthy were declared joint winners after recording the same time up to the fourth decimal point.
In third place, just three hundredths of a second behind the pair, was Heath Collinson - beating Nicholas Jones to the podium by just over five hundredths of a second.
The Formula Vees were certainly the closest competition of the lot, but other categories certainly provided equal entertainment.
Boasting the largest field of the weekend, the Traction Tyre Centre/Yokohama Matthew Flinders Plate Improved Productions cars saw Andrew Butcher secure an unlikely victory.
In what is one of the biggest Improved Production events of the year, second to only the Nationals, Butcher’s consistency saw him claim the race over a number of more fancied opponents who were unable to finish the tough race.
The popular figure dropped as low as sixth before climbing his way up the field and grabbed top spot with juts two laps to go, eventually finishing ahead of Lachlan McBrien and Drew Lawrence.
It was another big field in the Cue/Industrie Victorian Tourist Trophy Sports Cars races as John Martin and Aaron Tebb dominated the 25-car field to a comfortable 23-second victory.
Fresh from his S5000 feature race win at The Bend Motorsport Park as part of the Shannons Nationals, Martin proved to be quite the co-driver during the 34-lap enduro, helping Tebb steer the Porsche 997 Cup R to the lead after replacing Vince Muriti on lap 20.
Finishing behind the leaders in second place were Andrew MacPherson and Ben Porter, with the duo securing a Porsche one-two over Audi R8 Ultra LMS drivers Dean Canto and Gary Higgon.
In the Ramada Resort Phillip Island 50k Plate for Sports Sedans, Daniel Tamasi needed just one lap to overtake Dean Camm for top spot with the Calibra driver holding onto first place for the remainder of the race.
Unfortunately for Camm, the Chevrolet Corvette driver could only stay second for a few more laps after being overtaken. Monaro driver Michael Robinson passed him halfway through the race to secure an outright runner-up finish.
Michael Miceli and Andrew Clempson enjoyed an intense battle during the Isola Di Capri Historic Touring Cars Trophy’s final race, with the Miceli ending the weekend as the victor.
The duo traded places for much of the first of the race – with Clempson ahead for much of the first half, only to bow out of the race during the sixth lap, allowing Miceli to cruise to victory.
In second place ahead of John Mann, a fantastic performance from Darren Collins in the Chevrolet Camaro saw him move up five spots after occupying seventh during the first lap.
An unchanged top five in the CoolDrive Formula Ford and Formula Ford 1600 Trophies saw Cody Donald lead the way from start to finish, as he held off challenges from Kyle Gurton and Ben Bargwanna.
Richard Davison led the category’s 1600 class for the majority of the race, with Mark Samson finishing in second place.
The final category for the weekend saw John Kennedy pull off an outstanding comeback to win the Isola Di Capri Endeavour Cup Porsche 944 Challenge over Richard Howe and Anthony Westaway.
With the one-make category holding the final race of the weekend, John Kennedy looked down and out just 24 hours earlier after failing to finish the category’s first preliminary race.
Kennedy bounced back during the second preliminary race though – grabbing third outright before picking up a well deserved victory in the main feature race.