It was another solid result for Maxima BMW’s Glenn Allerton and Ted Collins in the final twelve lap Superbike race this morning at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, which saw the pair finishing in ninth and tenth place.
Allerton definitely improved his overall race pace for third race, managing to stay closer to the main group of riders. The 38-year-old expressed that he has just been missing something little in the setup all weekend.
“Edge grip has been something I have struggled with. We definitely made an improvement in race three, but just not quite enough. We need to find another half a second. If we do, I believe we will be really strong,” explained Allerton.
“The Maxima BMW team and I will continue to push forward and make the Maxima BMW S 1000RR better for round two at Wakefield,” added the three times Australian Superbike Champion.
While Allerton leaves the sea-side circuit, scoring a 7-7-9 result, finishing the round in eighth place with 40 championship points, he wasn’t exactly content with the overall result.
“I came here to try and win races and I didn’t get anywhere near that, so I’m not content with the result. However, this is racing and you just have to push through the bad days and look forward to the good days,” finished Allerton.
Allerton’s expectations remain high heading into the second stop on the ASBK tour. Before then, Allerton and the team will have a bit of work to do with the bikes in regards to different shock settings to try and get better grip out of the BMW S 1000RR’s.
Race three went really well for Collins, who finished 5.787 seconds behind Allerton.
“Shane Kinderis and the Maxima BMW team made some really good changes to the BMW S 1000RR, which improved our pace at the start of the race which is what I was lacking in yesterday’s races,” said the 19-year-old Victorian rider.
Collins, who started his 21st Superbike race this morning, got a good start which put himself in a better position to race. Collins continued to improve throughout the race picking off a few other riders, which saw him coming home in tenth place.
The highlight of the race for Collins came on lap ten when he posted his best lap around the 4.445km circuit with a 1min33.628.
With an 11-11-10 result, it saw Collins finishing in tenth place for the round, which is a really good start to the season for the 2017 Australian Supersport Champion, who scored a total of 31 points.
“My goal for the year is to be consistently inside the top ten of the championship. We are off to a good start and really looking forward to round two in a few weeks’ time,” explained Collins.
Looking ahead to Wakefield Park next month, it’s a circuit which will suit Collins very well, as it’s a very good track for his riding style. Collins enjoys a more of a tight and technical layout type of circuit, rather than fast and flowing circuit, such as Phillip Island.
“A lot of other riders don’t enjoy Wakefield Park. For me, I see that as an advantage. Obviously we have a few things to work on before then. However, as I said we made a massive step forward in race three this morning. We’ll take that onto Wakefield and see how we go. Massive thanks to the whole team as they all worked so hard this weekend. I’m really looking forward to the season ahead,” finished Collins.
The Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) now heads 826km north to Wakefield Park in Goulburn, New South Wales for round two, which is scheduled for 22 – 24 March.
AUSTRALIAN SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 1:
1st Aiden Wagner 71
2nd Cru Halliday 55
3rd Josh Waters 50
4th Mike Jones 49
5th Bryan Staring 48
6th Troy Herfoss 41
7th Wayne Maxwell 40
8th Glenn Allerton 40
9th Daniel Falzon 32
10th Ted Collins 31
February 26, 2020 11:04 am
February 5, 2020 9:38 am
January 22, 2020 10:04 am