The 4th Round of the Australian Superbike Championship at Barbagallo Raceway WA, it's well known as being one of the most physical tracks in Australia, so don’t miss all the thrills and spills from Round 4, and make sure you tune in to 7Mate or FoxSports5.
7Mate – Round 4, Barbagallo Raceway – Saturday June 18, 12:30pm
Fox Sports 5 – Round 4, Barbagallo Raceway – Thursday, June 30, 8:30pm
Yamaha Racing Team’s Wayne Maxwell scored the overall round win with an empathic 2-1 result at the fourth round of the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) at Barbagallo Raceway on the first weekend of June.
The WA win now makes it two in a row for Maxwell as he also takes control of the points lead in the Superbike Championship.
Maxwell, 33, described the weekend as an up-and-down and challenging weekend because he struggled to find a setting for his Yamaha YZF-R1M machine.
“I couldn’t get a feel for the bike and couldn’t get a direction,” explained Maxwell at the conclusion of the round on Sunday.
“I was unable to give my mechanic Warren [Monson] a direction to work in and he couldn’t give me anything back. So it took a while to get that going. We just went back to basics and went up and down with the bike and in the end we made the right decision and it paid off.”
After starting from second place in the grid, Maxwell sat in second place for the first two laps in race one before making his way to the front of the field on lap three and held onto the lead until lap ten. The Victorian rider threw everything he had at race one winner Mike Jones, however when Maxwell had an opportunity to pass him into turn six Maxwell had to yield as there was a yellow flag out. In the end Maxwell finished second, just .307 second behind.
Race two saw Maxwell hitting the lead on lap five and managed to hold the lead all the way to the very end of the twenty lap journey.
On his way to victory, Maxwell posted the fastest lap of the race on lap four which was a 55.449, just .003 seconds off YRT’s supported rider Daniel Falzon’s lap record which he set in race one. Thanks to his win it has seen Maxwell take command of the championship fight, which now sees him leading by five points over Allerton.
“To come out in race two and get the win and secure the championship lead is a great feeling,” beamed Maxwell after race two. “When I went to the lead, I didn’t really want to lead that early on because I know how physical it is out there. When I got to the lead it kept saying plus zero ‘MJ’, then plus zero ‘GA’ and I thought to myself “would someone give me a break?”
“I kept the pressure on and lucky enough we came out on top. I have to say a massive thanks to my mechanic Warren and the entire Yamaha Racing Team for the effort they have done this weekend.”
Allerton, who started the weekend off strong admitted that it was a bitter pill to swallow to be third overall for the round as he started the weekend off very well. The Wilton based rider topped the time sheets in practice two and three on Friday and qualifying two on Saturday before qualifying in third place in superpole, .246 seconds off Maxwell’s 55.159 second lap time.
After a tough start in race one, Allerton managed to get himself back up to third place and described that race as being "difficult".
In race two, Allerton powered his way through the pack from fifth place before making his way up to fourth on lap three, then third on lap four. He would stay there until lap seventeen after he got by Jones into turn seven and held onto second place for the rest of the race. The finishing order between Allerton and Maxwell was .899 seconds.
“I showed that I had the speed to run at the front,” said Allerton after race two. “In the heat of the battle, Wayne did a great job and won race two. I threw everything I had at him, so you can’t take it away from him. I just have to keep working hard, as the harder you work the luckier you get, so that’s what I’m going to keep on doing and move onto Morgan Park and do the best I can to win there.”
Finishing in sixth place overall with a 7-6 result was the third of the Yamaha riders in Cru Halliday. Barbagallo Raceway was a new circuit for the Camden based rider and it took a while for Halliday to get his head around the 2.411km circuit.
At the beginning of the first practice session on Friday, Halliday’s lap time was a 56.466 second. By qualifying one the 28-year-old got into the 55’s by stopping the clock with a 55.863 second. His best lap time however came in superpole when he set a 55.649, which saw him qualify in sixth place.
Race one unfortunately wasn’t a good race for Halliday. He did manage to get a good start, however he made a pretty big mistake coming out of the first corner and lost a couple of positions. On top of that Halliday admitted that he made a setup which didn’t go his way.
For race two Halliday and the Yamaha Racing Team went back to the setup to what they had in qualifying on Saturday. After the change, Halliday was able to fight hard which was proven when he set a 55.671 second lap time on lap two, which was just .022sec off his superpole lap time.
“The Yamaha R1M was handling so well out there in race two,” said Halliday. “I did have a little bit of tyre wear mid-race, but it did come back towards the end of the race. I made a small mistake while fighting against Troy, but these things happen and its racing. I just have to take the good with the bad and head off to Morgan Park now and try and get a good result there.
The Australian Superbike Championship now heads to Morgan Park Raceway, which will take place on the first weekend of August.
Round four Results – Barbagallo Raceway
ASBK- Superbikes
1st Wayne Maxwell (YRT) 45
2nd Mike Jones 44
3rd Glenn Allerton 38
4th Daniel Falzon (YRT supported) 33
5th Troy Herfoss 33
6th Cru Halliday (YRT) 29
Championship Standings after Round four
1st Wayne Maxwell (YRT) 176
2nd Glenn Allerton (YRT) 171
3rd Troy Herfoss 158
4th Mike Jones 137
5th Ben Burke 114
6th Cru Halliday (YRT) 106
7th Daniel Falzon (YRT supported) 103
8th Brayden Elliott 91
9th Jamie Stauffer 84
10th Matt Walters 73
The third stop on this year’s Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) calendar was at Sydney Motorsport Park and it was a red letter day for the Yamaha Racing Team (YRT) with Wayne Maxwell dominating the day with the perfect 1-1 scores ahead of team mate Glenn Allerton with 2-2 results.
From the moment the bikes hit the track on Saturday, the pace was a clear indication that all three riders were going to be hard to lock down and beat around the 3.93km Gardner GP Circuit. Wayne Maxwell topped the qualifying time sheets just ahead of team mate, Glenn Allerton with Cru Halliday lurking in fifth place.
Racing proved what timed qualifying produced with Maxwell and Allerton clearly the class of the field. The pair produced some world class racing as they shadowed each other for the entire length of race one while rain was the only thing to separate the duo in race two.
Race one saw Maxwell take command of the twelve lap race after hitting the lead at turn two and from there was never headed. He fought off several attacks from Allerton as he held his nerve under extreme pressure from Allerton who was all over the back tyre of Maxwell.
As they charged onto the front straight at SMSP, Maxwell tucked in and managed to cross the finish line just .219seconds ahead of his team mate. Cru Halliday came back from a couple of mistakes to claim fourth and make it an impressive 1-2-4 finish for the YRT crew.
Race two was held in inclement weather, the first rain affected race of the season but no-one, including Allerton, had an answer for Maxwell as he just bolted away at the front winning by a massive 14.110sec from Allerton. It was again another 1-2 finish for Yamaha.
Unfortunately, the wet weather proved a little more difficult for Cru Halliday who doesn’t have the experience in the slippery conditions as his team mates. Halliday slipped back to 13th place in race two, electing to keep his machine on two wheels and gain some championship points.
Wayne Maxwell
“I was really enjoyed the weekend, especially race two,” Maxwell said. “I felt very relaxed. The Yamaha R1M was fantastic and working really well. What can I say, you have days where everything just clicks and you have days where it doesn’t. The challenge is anyone can win on a good day, it’s trying to win on a bad day. We proved that at Wakefield Park that we could win on a bad day and today we have proved that we can win on a really good day.
“I have to say a massive thanks to the whole Yamaha Racing Team and my mechanic, Warren [Monson]. The entire team are working really well together, and the results at the track are really showing. I’m just the guy that gets to take the celebrations. Yes I do my part and I have to give feedback and so on. However without the good people around you and the good product that they supply you, which is the Yamaha R1M, you can’t win races.”
Glenn Allerton
“Second place today was a great result for myself and the Yamaha Racing Team,” Allerton said after race two. “To get a one-two in both races and the overall is fantastic. I felt like I could have won the first race, however, Wayne was just too good and didn’t make a mistake all race long.
“The second race was really difficult conditions. It was wet, then it was starting to dry out. Wayne and I were racing at a pretty good pace at the start. During the race I had a few big moments, so I decided to back it down a little bit. Wayne was pushing on, but I knew to consolidate second place was a smarter option.”
Cru Halliday
“This weekend wasn’t the best that I have had. We had good dry pace in race one, however in race two I did struggle,” said Halliday. “I just wasn’t really confident to push in the race. I found myself outside the top ten. By then I knew I couldn’t push any harder, so I just said to myself – just stay on and bring the Yamaha R1M home and collect points for the championship. Some days you have bad days and this was one of them.”
John Redding – Team Manager
“Wayne was good on the track, both wet and dry and Glenn has consolidated his position in the championship so it was a terrific day for the team. I’m sure they and the whole team are very happy with the whole weekend. Congratulations to the whole team as they have all worked really hard this weekend.”
From Sydney Motorsport Park, the Australian Superbike Championship now makes the 3,934km long haul to the west to Barbagallo Raceway which will take place on 3-5 June.
Round Three Results – Sydney Motorsport Park
ASBK- Superbikes
1st Wayne Maxwell (YRT) 51
2nd Glenn Allerton (YRT) 40
3rd Mike Jones 36
4th Jamie Stauffer 32
5th Troy Herfoss 30
8th Cru Halliday (YRT) 25
Championship Standings after Round Three
1st Glenn Allerton (YRT) 133
2nd Wayne Maxwell (YRT) 131
3rd Troy Herfoss 125
4th Mike Jones 93
5th Ben Burke 85
6th Cru Halliday (YRT) 77
7th Daniel Falzon (YRT Supported) 70
8th Brayden Elliott 67
9th Michael Blair (YRT Supported) 66
10th Matt Walters 61
It was mixed results for Yamaha Racing Team (YRT) at the second round of the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) at Goulburn’s Wakefield Park, New South Wales on the weekend.
All three riders suffered falls from their machines over the course of the weekend but continued to fight on despite the drama and post some respectable results in what was action packed weekend of racing.
Race one proved to be one of the most dramatic in some time with three red flags, three re starts and then two race leaders going down before the race was over.
Wayne Maxwell led the YRT charge on the weekend and started brightly with P2 in qualifying and confident of a good result in racing. All kinds of drams unfolded in race one with Allerton assuming the lead and Maxwell tucked in behind. Allerton fell at turn five leaving Maxwell to control the race but on the very next lap, he copied Allerton in the exact same turn and both YRT riders were down in the same corner.
“We had a front tyre issue in race one and I didn’t think it was as bad as it was,” explained Maxwell after race one. “It simply caught me out at the top of the hill. I knew Glenn had crashed there and the next lap I was on the ground and I couldn’t believe it.”
The former Australian Superbike champion bounced back in race two to take a flawless 5.179sec race two victory to pocket a healthy twenty-five points. The thirty-three-year-old got a lighting start that he knew was going to be so important. He was never headed leading from start to finish in the sixteen lap race.
Despite the challenging day and the seventh place round finish, Maxwell moved five points closer to the championship lead and now sits just 15 points behind series leader, Troy Herfoss.
Maxwell later described the day as an emotional rollercoaster. “To be on the ground to a dominant race win is pretty cool. While the first race was disappointing it was nice to take out the second race. I got a good start and just got myself into a rhythm and just saw my time increasing on the lap board.”
In twelfth place, scoring a solid third place and eighteen points in race two after a coming off in race one was Glenn Allerton. Allerton felt like he was super strong for race day to challenge to win both races, but admitted that he let it get away from him this weekend.
Allerton now slips to second place in the championship, two points shy of the championship lead.
“That fall in race one was costly but when Wayne did the same thing, it must have been a nightmare for the team. It’s disappointing, but that’s racing. We now head to Sydney Motorsport Park which is my home track. I had a great feeling with the bike at the test, so I’m going to go out there and go even harder.” Allerton commented.
Tied with Allerton on the day was team mate Cru Halliday who also scored a third place finish and a DNF.
Halliday, who qualified fourth on the grid was unfortunately taken out at turn one in the first of three race stoppages, which in the end saw a complete full race start in the later part of the afternoon.
With a drama filled restarted race one, Halliday kept the number sixty five R1M on two wheels to come home in third place and set the second fastest lap time, which was a 57.826 on lap four.
In race two, Halliday again was taken out at the first corner on the opening lap, which he later said it was simply out of his control.
One positive to take from the week for the 27 year old, he has moved from ninth to seventh in the Superbike championship with fifty-two-points on the board.
“It was nice to finish in third,” Halliday said after race one. “I would have liked to have got into a battle with my two teammates before they came off. It just panned out the way it did. My pace was good, but I just wasn’t in the right part of the track where the right guys were.”
“Race two was terrible and not the best way to end what was a good weekend,” said Halliday. “What can you do? I guess these things happen in racing. You just have to move past it.”
“I can’t say enough about this 2016 Yamaha YZF-R1M. It’s hooking up unreal and the Yamaha Racing Team have had the tyre degradation under control. I barely did any changes to the bike, just a few little gearing changes here and there. The whole team are working so hard. I just feel bad for putting the bike down in the last race.”
The Australian Superbike Championship now heads to Sydney Motorsport Park for round three which will take place from 16-17 April.
Round Two Results – Wakefield Park
ASBK- Superbikes
1st Troy Herfoss – 43
2ND Ant West – 40
3rd Ben Bourke – 32
7th Wayne Maxwell (YRT)
12th Glenn Allerton (YRT)
13th Cru Halliday (YRT)
Championship Standings after Round Two
1st Troy Herfoss – 95
2nd Glenn Allerton – 93 (YRT)
3rd Wayne Maxwell – 80 (YRT)
4th Ben Bourke - 73
5th Michael Jones - 57
6th Daniel Falzon - 56
7th Cru Halliday – 52 (YRT)
8th Michael Blair - 45
9th Ryan Hampton- 42
10th Braydon Elliot - 41
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2014 Australasian Superbike Champion & AFX-Superbike Champion, 2013 Australian Superbike Champion