Allerton wins three from four at Queensland Raceway

Defending champion Glenn Allerton is now the stand alone leader in the 2009 Woodstock Bourbon Australian Superbike Championship (ASC) after winning three of the four races in a double-header round at Queensland Raceway last weekend.

But the weekend wasn't without high drama for the New South Welshman. After a full quota of wins on Saturday and race one on Sunday, Allerton was forced to use his spare bike with dry-weather slick racing tyres in the finale when his racebike failed to start in pitlane, with the 28-year-old the only rider in the field not using wet-weather racing tyres.

Allerton's charge from the back of the field to fifth place on a track surface that felt like an ice rink earned him the round win after he'd earlier won the opening 16-lap race under a blue, sunny sky.

When a sudden and unexpected rain squall swept across the Ipswich circuit late in the afternoon, race officials delayed the second race start to allow teams and riders to assess the track conditions, with all riders opting to use wet-weather tyres - including Allerton.

However, a flat battery and a subsequently misfiring engine on his Honda CBR1000RR Superbike left the 28-year-old with no option but to swap to his spare racebike as the rest of the field headed out of pit lane.

"It wasn't too bad on the first lap as everyone was trying to find how grippy the track was," said Allerton. "But when I tried to stick with them I nearly crashed, and ran off the track.

"As the laps wound down a few dry patches began to appear and I could up the pace. But by then it was too late to catch the leaders."

The Honda rider's charge through the field on the drying rack surface saw him pass three competitors in the final lap-and-a-half to finish in fifth place, and in doing so claim the day's overall win from 22-year-old Josh Waters (Joe Rocket Suzuki).

Allerton's teammate Wayne Maxwell, who has always been a class act in wet weather, claimed the honours in the final race from Waters and veterans Kevin Curtain (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Shawn Giles (Joe Rocket Suzuki).

After heading to Queensland tied on points with Waters, Allerton now leads the championship by 10pts (134 to 124) from Maxwell (110), Giles (101) and Queenslander Robbie Bugden (Joe Rocket Suzuki, 89).

"I am really excited about taking both round wins and now that I am leading the championship I plan on staying there!" said Allerton. "The battle on the track with Josh Waters is definitely keeping things interesting, but I just need to remain focused.  I feel confident I can keep the momentum going at Eastern Creek for round four."

Waters was second in all four races over the two days, and his chance of a race win on combined times in the opening 16-lap Superbike race on Saturday disappeared on lap five of the restart when he missed his braking mark at the end of the back straight and dropped from third to eighth.

"I should have known better than to try and out-brake Robbie (Bugden) from 270km/h," said Waters, who clawed his way back to second by the chequered flag. "It was a silly mistake on my part.

"Glenn rides a Superbike with a different riding style to me, and I couldn't get in a position to challenge him," said Waters. "It's something I need to work on."

Giles and Maxwell were third in races and one two on Saturday, before Curtain snared the position both times on Sunday.

Curtain had started from pole for Sunday's round as he continues to mould the ZX-10R into a seriously fast racebike.

"I did have some set up issues when I first rode the ZX-10R, but it has only gotten better with every single race and practice session," said Curtain. "The Ninja ZX-10R has never taken a backward step.

"This weekend it was balanced superbly, we were getting a lot of traction out of corners and it's no slower than any other bikes on the straight. The set up that we found this weekend will be very close to what is required to find the podium at the next round at Eastern Creek."

It was subdued outing for two-time superbike Jamie Stauffer (Yamaha Racing Team), who could do no better than seventh, while his sibling and teammate Daniel fractured a wrist and strained his hip after a massive highside in race one on Saturday. He then gritted his teeth and soldiered on for the rest of the weekend, finishing well inside the top 10.

Jamie made up for his superbike disappointment in supersport, sharing honours with teammate Bryan Staring on Saturday after a win and second place apiece, and then finishing second to double-winner Staring on Sunday.

Shannon Johnson (Pro Con Motologic Racing) made a great return to Aussie championship racing on a Honda, with the 2002 supersport champion third overall on both days.

"From the first session to the last race we improved our lap times by over two seconds, and in doing so closed the gap to the front running lap times making it possible to fight for podiums," said Johnson. "Some of the battles I had with both factory and privateer riders were very exciting and lots of fun to be a part of, it is a credit to the riders involved to know that we can trust each other whilst still racing elbow to elbow over 200km/h."

Staring is now on 140pts, from Stauffer (121) and Ben Attard (Kawasaki Racing Team, 96).

The first of two 60-minute highlights programs from Queensland will go to air on digital channel ONE at 1.25am on Monday, June 15, following the MotoGP telecast from Catalunya.

For full results and standings across all classes, click here.