Australian Superbike legend Shawn Giles is the latest high-profile rider to enter the International Island Classic, to be held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit this weekend.

The former Team Suzuki rider announced his retirement from national championship Superbike racing earlier this week, but wasted no time in accepting a ride in this weekend’s International Island Classic – Australia’s biggest domestic motorcycle race meeting and one of the world’s major Historic festivals.

Giles will substitute for regular rider Craig McMartin on a highly-modified 1300cc Vincent V-twin Superbike in the International Challenge races for pre-1982 Grand Prix and Superbike machines.

A three-time ASBK Champion, Giles will be joined by a host of Australian road racing royalty, including two of the stars of 1980s.

Multiple Australian champions Malcolm ‘Wally’ Campbell and Robbie Phillis will face off across a four-race format in the International Challenge for Forgotten Era (1973-1982) machines.

Renowned for their titanic battles in the early ’80s, Campbell and Phillis will join a capacity grid of riders from Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, USA and France.

Campbell, a two-time Australian Superbike Champion (1989 and 1990), will race a four-cylinder Suzuki RG500 two-stroke grand prix motorcycle similar to the one that took the late Barry Sheene to back-to-back world 500cc GP titles in 1976 and 1977.

Phillis, who won five successive Superbike crowns in the early ’80s before Campbell halted his run, will compete aboard a Suzuki Katana Superbike similar to the one that took him to the 1982 title.

“I rate Wally as the toughest and hardest rider I’ve ever raced against,” says Phillis. “He never gave an inch, and never asked for one either. We had some great races.”

“It’s great to be back racing again, and having Wally back on the grid makes it even better.”

Jeremy McWilliams, the man who three times out-qualified multiple world champion Valentino Rossi at Victoria’s Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, will be one of the red-hot favourites.

McWilliams (Suzuki XR69 F1) joins World Endurance Champions Steve Martin (Suzuki Katana) and Warwick Nowland (Moriwaki Suzuki), Campbell (Suzuki RG500), Phillis (Suzuki Katana), Irish champion Ryan Farquhar (Suzuki XR69 F1), Isle of Man TT record-holder Cameron Donald (Suzuki XR69 F1) and reigning Australian Superstock 1000 champion Beau Beaton (Vincent Black Lightning) as one the leading contenders for the outright win.