The opening round of the 2014 AirRoad Australian Superbike Championship provided some thrilling motorcycle racing action at Queensland Raceway today.
NextGen Motorsports Glenn Allerton (pictured above) won the opening round of the Australian Superbike Championship, after taking victory in Race 1 ahead of Crazy Dog Kawasaki’s Mike Jones and K&R Hydraulics Kawasaki’s Mathew Harding.
With a late thunderstorm drenching the circuit, the final Superbike race was abandoned due to the extreme weather conditions.
Allerton also took a clean sweep of the EVO Unlimited class but came under fire from a reinvigorated Phil Lovett, who set the fastest lap time of the final race.
Lovett diced with Allerton over the final laps, the veteran racer passing the BMW rider before being passed back on the final lap.
While disappointed that the final Superbike race was abandoned Allerton said he had enjoyed the weekend.
“It was disappointing that we couldn’t run the final Superbike race but there was just too much water on the track. I had a really good weekend and we made a lot of gains. I am sure the spectators enjoyed it, as there was some great racing across all the classes.
“Now we need to keep the ball rolling as we prepare for Darwin. I am really looking forward to that event especially as we will race alongside V8 Supercars,” Allerton concluded.
Defending Australian Supersport Champion Daniel Falzon took a clean sweep of today’s Supersport races. The South Australian took a convincing win the opening encounter, but faced strong opposition from pole sitter Aiden Wagner and Callum Spriggs in Race 2.
The final 17-lap race, which was reduced to 15 laps after a red flag four laps in, also saw the start of the inclement weather that brought a premature end to the day.
“That final Supersport race was awesome, it was so close between myself, Aiden and Callum,” Falzon said. “It started to get really windy out there which was upsetting the bike a bit and took me a little while to get a handle on.
“We came here to defend the title and we have come away with the lead so I couldn’t be happier it is exactly where we want to be,” Falzon added.
Queensland schoolgirl Tayla Relph provided the upset of the day, proving consistency is the key to the top step of the dais.
Relph, who finished the four Moto3/125 races third claimed the overall round win after Lachlan Kavney and Callum Barker both failed to finish races across the weekend.
Craig White stormed to victory in the combined Production /Formula 400 class but it was Western Australia’s Jessica Derrin who took the round win in the 250 Production class.
The next event sees the Australian Superbike and Supersport championships head to Darwin’s Hidden Valley on June 21-22.
Australian Superbike Championship Standings – Round 1 Queensland Raceway
1. Glenn ALLERTON (NSW) BMW, 26
2. Mike JONES (QLD) Kawasaki, 20
3. Mathew HARDING (NSW) Kawasaki, 18
4. Phil LOVETT (NSW) Kawasaki, 17
5. Ben NICOLSON (VIC) BMW, 16
6. Linden MAGEE (QLD) BMW, 15
7. Adam SENIOR (WA) Suzuki, 14
8. Josh CUMMING (QLD) Yamaha, 13
9. Mitch PAYNTER (QLD) Kawasaki, 12
10. Romain ANFOSSO (QLD) Honda, 11 …etc
Australian Supersport Championship Standings – Round 1 Queensland Raceway
1. Daniel FALZON (SA) Yamaha, 50
2. Aiden WAGNER (QLD) Yamaha, 41
3. Callum SPRIGGS (QLD) Yamaha, 36
4. Chris QUINN (NSW) Yamaha, 34
5. Brenton HYDE (NSW) Yamaha, 32
6. Kane BURNS (NSW) Suzuki, 28
7. Mitch LEVY (NSW) Yamaha, 27
8. Cam RUSSELL (VIC) Yamaha, 24
9. Anthony QUINN (NSW) Yamaha, 24
10. Callum ALDERSON (VIC)Yamaha, 22 …etc
EVO Unlimited Championship Standings – Round 1 Queensland Raceway
1. Glenn ALLERTON (NSW) BMW, 101
2. Phil LOVETT (NSW) Kawasaki, 78
3. Mathew HARDING (NSW) Kawasaki, 74
4. Ben NICOLSON (VIC) BMW, 68
5. Michael McMILLAN (QLD) Aprilia, 64
6. Michael JEFFERY (NSW) Yamaha, 53
7. Richard ELLIS (VIC) BMW, 48
8. Jason IVLOVIC (SA) Suzuki, 46
9. Murray CLARK (QLD) Suzuki, 45
10. Chris PERINI (NSW) Ducati, 43 …etc
Images courtesy Andrew Gosling/TBG Sport
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