The Maxima BMW team are about to get back on track for this weekend’s third round of the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) at The Bend Motorsport Park circuit, located 104 kilometres south-east of the state capital, Adelaide.
After an up-and-down weekend at Wakefield Park last month, both Glenn Allerton and Ted Collins are eager to redeem themselves at the $100m plus 4.95km eighteen corner International Circuit which was added to the ASBK calendar last year.
Though the former three times Australian Superbike Champion didn’t leave Wakefield Park as high as he would have liked, Allerton took the positives from the 2.2km rural circuit and is motivated to show his speed again at The Bend Motorsport Park, where he finished fourth overall in 2018 with an 8-4-5 result.
This weekend Allerton is aiming for at least a top five finish in all three races. If the 38-year-old can tick those boxes, the New South Welshman would be more than happy as he could build from there for the remaining four rounds of the season and head to circuits which he enjoys very much.Heading into this weekend, Allerton sits in tenth place in the championship fight with 56-points to his name.
Collins’, who will make his 50th race start with the Next Gen Motorsports team in the ASBK series in the opening race on Saturday afternoon feels good coming into round three at The Bend Motorsport Park. This is because the Maxima BMW team have done a lot behind the scenes which sees his BMW S 1000RR having some upgrades to his bike since round two.
The 19-year-old who has a total of six top ten placing’s out of 23 Superbike race starts to his name believes he will see some good results throughout this weekend.
The 2017 Australian Supersport Champion will be looking to improve on his championship position come the conclusion of three. Collins currently lies in thirteenth spot with 41-points on the board.
This weekend, which sees the Next Gen Motorsports team competing in its 65th Australian Superbike category championship start will see both Allerton’s and Collins’ Maxima BMW S 1000RR in an all-new look livery, which has been created by the team’s partnership sponsor, SignPro. The new look has been inspired by the clean factory look of the eagerly awaiting 2019 BMW S 1000RR.
Track action for the Superbike class gets underway this Thursday afternoon with Free Practice one starting at 4pm ACST (Australian Central Standard Time).
Glenn Allerton
“I was hugely disappointed about my results at Wakefield Park. I know I can race a lot better than what I did, but sometimes you are going to have those tough days at the office and we certainly had a tough outing last time out. However, this has got me revved up for this weekend to improve on my results and get a better outcome for both myself and the team. I believe The Bend Motorsport Park will be a much better round for myself, as the Maxima BMW S1000RR suits the high speed and corners which the circuit lends its self to.
Honestly, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain, so I’m just going to lay it all on the line and go for broke this weekend. After a tough opening two rounds, the team and sponsors deserve a
good result and nothing would please me more than to deliver them that for their hard work they have put in.
Regarding the Bend Motorsport Park circuit. I really like track and the overall layout. It’s got a bit of everything which makes for a good fun circuit to race on. I’m looking forward to getting back there and hitting the track for the First Practice session on Thursday.”
Ted Collins:
“I had a few injuries after my crash on Friday morning of Round two at Wakefield Park that unfortunately set us back a few weeks regarding training and testing. However, I’m on the right track in terms of recovery from this incident and I am working hard to get back to 100% fitness come round three.
Looking back on round two, obviously, my race results weren’t the best. Our overall pace before the crash was good and we were making massive steps forward. It was just a huge set back after the crash on the Friday morning, as we had to rebuild the Maxima BMW S 1000RR overnight. I also sustained a few injuries I had to deal with for the remaining of the weekend.
I believe the results didn’t show the speed which we did have earlier in the weekend at round two.
In terms of The Bend Motorsport Park, every rider seems to enjoy circuit. It’s a bit different to all the other tracks we go to throughout the year. The circuit is hard on a Superbike in terms of tyre wear. As we were unable to complete any testing at The Bend, we need to work on our own programme throughout Free Practice, allowing me to focus on our areas of weakness. This will enable us to progressively work our way up the timesheet come qualifying on Saturday morning.”
Round 3 ASBK Schedule (Superbike):
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Thursday 25 April |
Friday 26 April |
Saturday 27 April |
Sunday 28 April |
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Free Practice 1: 4:00pm – 5:00pm |
Free Practice 2: 9:15am – 9:45am |
Warm Up: 8:10am – 8:30am |
Race 2: 10:20am – 11:00am (10-Laps) |
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Timed Practice: 1:30pm – 2:00pm |
Qualifying 1: 10:20am – 10:35am |
Race 3: 3:05pm – 3:50pm (10-Laps) |
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Qualifying 2 (Top 12): 10:45am – 11:00am |
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Race 1: 3:40pm – 4:25pm (10-Laps) |