Title leader Glenn Allerton won race one ahead of Wayne Maxwell after a race-long battle.

A magical performance from Procon Maxima BMW Racing’s Glenn Allerton saw him win the opening race of the Barbagallo round of the Australian Superbike Championship this afternoon in Western Australia.

Allerton was engaged in a race-long battle with Team Honda Racing teammates Wayne Maxwell and Jamie Stauffer before striking at the beginning of the penultimate lap, past Maxwell and into the lead.

It was entering the final lap where Allerton asserted himself at the front, using lapped riders to his advantage for a calculated victory that saw him score his fifth win of seven races this season.

Friday pacesetter Allerton firmed his championship chances today with his closest rival Troy Herfoss finishing fifth on the Team Suzuki machine.

“It’s great to get another win on the board but it definitely wasn’t easy,” said Allerton. “I knew the pace would be hot and wanted to try and save the tyre for the run home but took a bit longer to get past Wayne than I would have liked.

“We came across some lap traffic and I probably got in front of him for a split second but couldn’t make it stick. The other guys were there racing for position and I really had to attack hard to get through them.

“I got Wayne towards the end and managed to get through some traffic heading up the hill, I wasn’t sure where he was but knew he would have to deal with them as well.

“I’m running the #111 this weekend to remember a local rider Levi Di Candilo and want to dedicate the win to him. His Dad has supported me for much of my career and was there when the times were tough last year.”

Maxwell, who scored his third pole position of the season during the QBE Superpole session earlier this morning, was forced to settle for second in an improved performance over the race distance, while teammate Stauffer hung on for a close third.

Despite the obvious disappointment of not converting his Superpole victory to a race one win, Maxwell was relieved to take a bundle of points today after recording two DNF’s in Darwin.

“It’s good to be back up there but I’m probably still lacking some confidence,” said Maxwell. “Today was a tough break. We had the speed but got caught out with the lap traffic.

“Glenn is a racer, he saw the opportunity and took it. We’ve got a bit to work on and we’ll come back tomorrow and give the round win a serious shake.”

Lap traffic at two-thirds race distance saw Stauffer drop off the back of the lead duo before reeling them back in as they too came across slower riders.

He finished a second shy of his teammate to complete a dramatic turnaround for Team Honda.

“It’s good to get both Honda’s back up there and be in the hunt for the race win,” said Stauffer.

“My race was run when I came across a lapper in the basin and lost a lot of time, at that stage I felt like I could probably catch Wayne and Glenn but that lap really cost me.

“The bike was pretty good but there’s always new things to try. I was having trouble with corner entry and that’s something we’ll look at for race two.”

The leaders set their best times early in the piece and all demonstrated considerable pace gains, lapping quicker in the race than they did in yesterday’s qualifying session.

Top Suzuki in position four was Robbie Bugden on his satellite Mack Trucks-supported GSX-R, while rookie factory Team Suzuki rider Troy Herfoss rounded out the top five.

Demolition Plus GAS Honda rider Craig Coxhell maintained his front row starting position for five laps before Herfoss and Bugden made their move.

i-Style The Natural Aprilia Racing Team rider Ben Attard made up a place from his QBE Superpole starting position to finish seventh with Scott Charlton close behind on an impressive guest ride with Team Suzuki.

Quick to adapt to the more powerful GSX-R1000, Team Suzuki Supersport contender Brodie Waters did a commendable job on board a Prostock-spec bike to head home the class.

Waters’ advantage over the second Prostock bike home, the BMW of Linden Magee, was close to 13 seconds. Andrew Schrape brought his BMW home in third place for the opener.

Tomorrow’s 15-lap race begins at 9.35am (WST) following a 10-minute warm-up to kick off the day’s proceedings.

Channel 7 will broadcast the action from 1.00pm (EST) tomorrow with trackside and on-board cameras catching the action from every angle. Queensland viewers check local guides as telecast will be shown on 7Mate.

2011 Australian Superbike Championship
Round Two – Barbagallo, WA

Race One Results:
1. Glenn ALLERTON (NSW) / Procon Maxima BMW
2. Wayne MAXWELL (NSW) / Team Honda Racing
3. Jamie STAUFFER (NSW) / Team Honda Racing
4. Robert BUGDEN (QLD) / Team Mack Trucks Suzuki
5. Troy HERFOSS (NSW) / Team Suzuki
6. Craig COXHELL (VIC) / GAS Honda
7. Ben ATTARD (QLD) / The i-Style Natural Aprilia Team
8. Scott CHARLTON (QLD) / Team Suzuki
9. Ben HENRY (WA) / Cube Racing / Australian Outdoor Living
10. Cole ODENDAAL (QLD) / NSW Compensation Lawyers / GAS Honda Racing