MOTOLOGIC RACING:

What a crowd!  The level of excitement over the weekend at Eastern Creek Raceway was just tremendous for Round 4 of the Woodstock Bourbon Australian Superbike Championships with a bumper crowd.  Spectators turned out in their thousands and were treated to some fantastic racing not least of all from Motologic Racing who remain on top after a solid if somewhat trying weekend at Eastern Creek Raceway.

Defending champion, Glenn Allerton maintains his lead in the Australian Superbike Championship with 7 points the difference between “Big Red” and Suzuki’s Josh Waters.  The other half of the Motologic Racing duo, Wayne Maxwell remains in 3rd spot on the points tally after some very strong riding.

Friday’s practice had all riders and indeed pit crew battling gusty winds for much of the day although the track was dry and temperatures mild.  With no testing under their belts since Queensland the Motologic riders began strongly, posting 3rd and 4th in first practice with Glenn circulating at a lap time of 1:32.282 sec and Wayne close behind on 1:32.322 sec.  Adjustments made, Allerton bridged the gap to take the lead with a lap time of 1:31.819 sec in second practice.  Overall for the day’s practice sessions Shawn Giles was the fastest with a lap time of 1:31.775 sec with Glenn Allerton not far behind on 1:31.819 sec.

The wild weather was all but gone on Saturday and after a chilly start to the day, the sun warmed a larger than usual crowd for a Saturday at Eastern Creek to watch Qualifying.  The second Australian Superpole was every bit as exciting as the first and just as surprising.

It was a slightly modified Superpole for Round 4 with only the top 8 riders from Qualifying taking a flying lap around Eastern Creek to decide who would start from first position on the grid on Sunday.  After a surprise result in Queensland saw the experience of Kevin Curtain take out Superpole, it seemed it wasn’t his day at Round 4 with Suzuki’s Josh Waters taking the honours with a time of 1:31.166 sec.  Allerton qualified in 4th position, his lap time a 132.146 sec and Maxwell was to start from 5th position on the grid on Sunday with a time of 1:32.235 sec.

The defending Australian champion, Glenn Allerton took the Race 1 win on Sunday although a technical issue with the ECU on his Honda CBR1000RR almost saw Allerton miss the warm up lap!  Leaping onto his spare bike he managed to make the grid and outfox Waters on the final lap to take the win.

“I was really happy with the result for Race 1 especially after the issue we had with the ECU on my main bike.  It caused a bit of a flurry in the pits as the guys rushed to get me onto the grid.  I rode the spare bike and had a really consistent race.”

Wayne Maxwell, the other championship hopeful for Motologic claimed 4th place in Race 1.

“I’m never happy unless I’m in first obviously, but my start didn’t go according to plan and Glenn and Josh both rode well.  I’m achieving good lap times; my fastest lap was a 1:31.425 sec in Race 1 so I just need a better start and I’ll be giving the other two riders something to think about”

The second race saw Josh Waters off the line first to take the lead with the Motologic riders getting less than ideal starts to come off the line back in the pack although they very quickly remedied this issue, moving up to 2nd and 3rd early on the proceedings.  The gap from Waters proved to be unbridgeable as he rode an impressive race, even setting a new lap record with a time of 1:30.998 sec on lap 3.  Second place went to Motologic Racing’s Wayne Maxwell who showed he is every bit as determined as Allerton to get the win.  To have taken 2nd place after getting off the line back in the field was a testament to the dedication and hunger of the Motologic rider.

Although pleased with the results from both the Motologic Racing riders, Motologic owner and Race Team manager, Paul Free is looking to Round 5 at Mallala which is only a few weeks away.

“The results from the weekend were terrific!  However, I know we have some improvements to make to the bikes to really make sure we come out stronger than ever at Round 5.”

“The team worked extremely hard over the weekend, as always, and like me they aren’t 100% happy unless we are winning so they are already completely focused on the task at hand which is ensuring our bikes are out in front again in a few weeks time!”

The 2009 season of the Australian Superbikes is definitely an exciting one with a few surprises at every event.  The level of racing this year is certainly guaranteeing spectators a fantastic day out and Round 5 at Mallala will be no exception.  Motologic Racing will take to the track again on August 28-30 at the Mallala circuit with one goal in mind; BEING NUMBER ONE!!