INTERNATIONAL ENTERTAINMENT GROUP:

The final round of the Woodstock Bourbon Australian Superbike Championship will incorporate the longest-running trophy race in Australia – if not the world.

The Harvie Wiltshire Trophy was first contested in 1951, and other than 1965, has been competed for every year since.

Harvie Wiltshire was a member of Victoria’s Preston Motorcycle Club in the 1940s, and lost his life in a road accident. To honour Harvie’s memory his widow donated a trophy – the very same trophy that will be competed for at the final ASBK round.

The first Harvie Wiltshire Trophy race was run at the Darley circuit – near Bacchus Marsh (Victoria) – in 1951, with Maurie Quincey the inaugural winner. Quincey would go on to add his name a second time, in 1956.

Darley was a short and tight circuit set on an old US army base, and not that dissimilar to Broadford. Darley is certainly a far cry from the venue for the 58th running of the Harvie Wiltshire Trophy, the fastest MotoGP circuit in the world.

The perpetual trophy can boast some of the biggest names in Australian racing, many who went on to achieve success on the international stage – Ken Blake, Gregg Hansford, Robbie Phillis, Daryl Beattie and Steve Martin to name just a few.

As the factory teams directed their focus to contesting only Australian championship meetings in the 1990s, the Harvie Wiltshire Trophy began to lose some of its prestige – although Australia’s leading privateers kept Harvie’s legacy alive.

The initiative by the Preston Motorcycle Club to run the Harvie Wiltshire Trophy as an additional feature race on the Phillip Island ASBK final round  program will see the largest contingent of Australia’s leading riders compete for the trophy for over two decades. Harvie would be proud.

PAST WINNERS
1951 Maurie Quincey (Vic)
1952 Owen Archibald (Vic)
1953 Owen Archibald (Vic)
1954 Owen Archibald (Vic)
1955 George Crow (SA)
1956 Maurie Quincey (Vic)
1957 Trevor Pound (Vic)
1958 Ken Rumble (Vic)
1959 Trevor Pound (Vic)
1960 Owen Archibald (Vic)
1961 Ken Rumble (Vic)
1962 Trevor Pound (Vic)
1963 Ken Rumble (Vic)
1964 Malcolm Stanton (Vic)
1965 Not held
1966 Richard Reid (Vic)
1967 Len Atlee (NSW)
1968 Richard Reid (Vic)
1969 Ken Blake (Vic)
1970 John Maher (Vic)
1971 Peter Allen (Vic)
1972 John Maher (Vic)
1973 Ron Toombs (NSW)
1974 Denny McCormack (SA)
1975 Rob Hinton (NSW)
1976 Gregg Hansford (Qld)
1977 Rick Perry (NZ)
1978 Graeme Muir (Vic)
1979 Andrew Johnson (Vic)
1980 Andrew Johnson (Vic)
1981 Rob Phillis (Vic)
1982 Rob Phillis (Vic)
1983 Rob Phillis (Vic)
1984 Andrew Johnson (Vic)
1985 Rob Phillis (Vic)
1986 Chris Oldfield (Vic)
1987 Jeff Sayle (NSW)
1988 Roy Leslie (NSW)
1989 Rene Bongers (Vic)
1990 Daryl Beattie (Qld)
1991 Michael O’Connor (Vic)
1992 Shawn Giles (NSW)
1993 Peter Guest (Vic)
1994 Peter Guest (Vic)
1995 Peter Guest (Vic)
1996 David Emmerson (Vic)
1997 Steve Martin (SA)
1998 Alistair Maxwell (NSW)
1999 Alistair Maxwell (NSW)
2000 Shannon Johnson (Vic)
2001 Craig Coxhell (Vic)
2002 Craig Coxhell (Vic)
2003 Steve Tozer (Vic)
2004 Troy Elliot (Vic)
2005 Anthony Gobert (NSW)
2006 Steve Tozer (Vic)
2007 Steve Tozer (Vic)
2008 Chris Sali (Vic)