With the 2013 QBE Australian Superbike Championship officially opening up at Symmons Plains last weekend, CycleOnline.com.au outlines the standout performances and some behind the scenes happenings from Tasmania.

Glenn Allerton was dominant with a clean sweep on the BMW HP4. Image: Andrew Gosling/TBG Sport.

Allerton untouchable
Glenn Allerton and the Next Gen Motorsports team have carried over a confidence-boosting performance at the World Superbike event at Phillip Island to the opening points race of the championship. Allerton said he was extremely confident on the bike and backed it up with provisional qualifying honours, Superpole and two comprehensive race wins.

Hern out of luck
He raced to two strong podium finishes at the non-points event at Phillip Island but CM Racing Suzuki privateer Chas Hern couldn’t take a trick in Tassie. After a strong performance in qualifying, Hern got off to a solid start in the opener but was high-sided from his bike in turn five on first lap, with the team suspecting the oil on the main bearings had dried up. After a positive start to the day, Hern looked set to at least salvage some points in race two but on the warm-up lap a serious engine failure sent him to the sidelines once more. We wish the team good luck in returning to form in Queensland.

Bugden’s back
Well, he never really left, but he hasn’t been in an official factory seat at Team Suzuki since 2006. The Queenslander has been a strong point-scorer for the Suzuki brand in seasons past, but he’s always been in the satellite seat with two other riders taking factory preference. After winning the New Zealand Superbike Championship, Bugden was given a shot at the top job again with support of Volvo Group and did not disappoint, blasting off the line and even leading the race on occasion. He finished with two sold thirds behind teammate Wayne Maxwell and now heads to his home track where he is always consistently quick.

Hook’s Herculean effort
Josh Hook’s rookie points-paying Superbike race looked to have been soured as he crashed spectacularly in the wake of Chas Hern’s high-side. Hook was left with nowhere to go and rode over the Suzuki before being thrown from his bike. With the race immediately red-flagged, the Honda rider sprinted – as best you can sprint in motorcycle leathers – back to the team’s pit bay where he climbed aboard his spare bike in enough time to make the restart and ride strongly to fifth place.

2+4=1
There will only be one ASBK event run alongside the V8 Supercars in 2013 and that was it. Symmons Plains was the sole 2+4 outing for the season, which means it’s the first time since IEG re-introduced the concept in 2010 that two or more haven’t been on the calendar. While that means more standalone rounds and the inclusion of more classes, it does mean the top-level Superbike teams miss out on some of the exposure they had previously enjoyed.

Glenn Scott was one of a handful of rookies putting on a strong show at Symmons Plains. Image: Andrew Gosling/TBG Sport.

Rookie riders refresh the Superbike field
Along with top-performing rookie Josh Hook, we saw a number of familiar faces making their step into the premier class. Glenn Scott’s ultra-professional InsureMyRide outfit was hard to miss in their distinct yellow livery, and the 21-year-old put in a solid showing for sixth overall. Next Gen BMW rider Linden Magee qualified on the front row for his first championship points event, though his run would be cut short with a rare mechanical DNF in race one. The team also entered Ben Nicolson in Superbike and he handled the transition from Prostock in impressive fashion.

Live television
Both 16-lap Superbike races were featured as part of the V8 Supercars telecast, a fantastic way to showcase the sport to an established audience of motorsport enthusiasts. The V8 TV production team took their super slow-motion cameras to Tassie too, which meant we were treated with some incredible imagery of the Superbikes as they wound their way onto the start/finish straight.

Riders’ meeting
Riders were called for a lengthy meeting with IEG managing director Yarrive Konsky around lunch time on Friday – minus the team managers of the sport. In a somewhat heated exchange at times according to sources, it is believed Konsky outlined plans for the sport’s future, many of which were covered in our Industry Insight pieces last week.

New Superpole format
The new multi-rider Superpole format proved a winner, with riders racing the clock in a knock-out style session. Strategy, including the management of lap traffic, played a big part in the outcome. Team Honda’s Jamie Stauffer was missing from the order in Superpole three after being excluded for a minor technical infringement, with Chas Hern moving up a place, while Linden Magee stunned with his front row slot. Needless to say, it was action aplenty!

Maximum points for Pirelli’s debut
With the open tyre rule in place for 2013, Pirelli has stepped up to the plate and paired its Diablo Superbike tyre with the HP4 of Glenn Allerton with devastating results. Allerton attributes his result strongly to the performance of the tyre which saw him clean sweep the weekend and take the maximum 51 points on offer.