Allerton dominates ASBK opener

BMW rider Glenn Allerton dominated a drama-charged day at Phillip Island on February 27, winning both races at the opening round of the Viking Group Australian Superbike Championship in spectacular style.

“This is the best start to a season I’ve ever had,” said an ecstatic Allerton. “The weekend really could not have gone better for us given we are a new team and racing a new bike.

“We made a good choice this morning on the slicks but in the second race showed that the pace was genuine.

“Given the limited time we’ve had to work on the bike, the team at Hepburn Motorsport have done an awesome job and I cannot fault them at all.  Thanks also have to go to all at BMW.”

Allerton is looking forward to continuing the form at his favourite track on the calendar next weekend.

“I love Symmons Plains, it’s my favourite track in Australia and I feel like we can be strong again there.”

Allerton leaves Phillip Island with a 13pt (50 to 37) advantage over second-placed rider Troy Herfoss, who was impressive in his first ever Superbike outing with Team Suzuki.

Then it’s Queenslander Ben Attard (Aprilia, 36), Craig Coxhell (Honda, 33) and Jamie Stauffer (Honda, 32).

In race one, the field was forced to gamble after the sighting lap, with a damp circuit sending some riders scrambling for spare bikes with wet tyres fitted.

The S 1000 RR-mounted Allerton elected to remain on slicks and, despite being swamped in the opening laps, soon found pace as a dry line around the 4.445km circuit emerged.

The 30-year-old picked off the field, and by the fifth lap found himself in the lead after roaring past polesitter Wayne Maxwell (Honda), who was struggling on deteriorating wet rubber.

Allerton greeted the chequered flag with a lead of over 20 seconds, with second-place going to the RSV4-R ridden by Attard.

Proving the victory was no fluke, the Allerton backed up the performance by winning race two in dry conditions, again by a solid margin.

Herfoss’ result was built on both speed and consistency. The GSX-R1000 rider settled for a strong fourth place in the opening race when unable to attack, but was on song in the second 12-lapper and raced to a comfortable podium position.

“It was a tough weekend and I’m very glad to come away sitting second,” said Herfoss. “Our testing pace was great so I was a little confused as to why I was taking a while to get comfortable on the bike.

“Getting a good result on wet tyres in the first race gave me the confidence I needed, and I was able to mix it with the leaders in the second.

“I’m taking steady steps in my approach to this season and this weekend has provided me with a solid start.”

Yamaha rider Cru Halliday claimed Prostock honours, while in the Supersport ranks Aaron Gobert (Yamaha) was the overall winner with 4-1 finishes to edge out Kevin Curtain (Yamaha, 2-2) and Brodie Waters (Suzuki, 1-8).

Gobert is in his second season back in Australia after a long stint in America, and has now broken through for his first national Supersport win.

“We had a good bike setting on Saturday but unfortunately just came short of the win, so I am happy to come out and win today after leading from Turn One on the first lap,” said Gobert.

“It couldn’t have been a better situation for the race win. I felt comfortable and slowly pulled away – I was actually watching the big screens around the track so I could see what was going on behind me!”

Click on the following link for full results from Phillip Island.