Yamaha Racing Team with Yamaha Motorcycle Insurance rider Glenn Allerton has been a regular at the front of the Australasian Superbike Championship field in 2015 to date, while developing the brand new YZF-R1M. CycleOnline.com.au hit the triple national champion up with five random questions beginning in ‘why’.

Image: Russell Colvin.

Why is the YZF-R1M such a good motorcycle?

It’s a good motorcycle because the front-end is the best that I have ever ridden on and the power delivery is the smoothest power that I have experienced with a Superbike, so yeah it’s the best bike that I have ridden.

Why is YRT with YMI competing at this year’s Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix in the support races?

Probably because it’s one of the best race meetings of the year to be a part of. I know we are a sideshow to main event, but personally I love the event! I love being there, like most other people. What better way to show off how good the Yamaha R1M is than winning at Phillip Island at the Australian round of the MotoGP?

Why do you think Australian motorcycle racing has such little on-look in the mainstream?

I guess its part of maybe to do with our culture here in Australia. Over the years people have probably developed into like a grassroot type of sport. Even as a kid I played footy and, as everyone knows, it’s very easy for a kid to be a part of a football club. Maybe that’s something we need to work on, to make it easier to get kids involved in motorcycle racing. It is a slightly expensive sport, however it’s probably one of the most rewarding sports you can be a part of if you commit to it. It’s a great sport to be involved in, but the media has a lot to do with it and slowly we have lost contact with the mainstream media, which is unfortunate. I don’t have the answers how to fix it… I wish I did.

Image: Russell Colvin.

Why has Dani Pedrosa still been able to keep his ride at Honda?

That’s a tough one. Realistically he’s probably just a guy who has been unfortunate not to win a championship and at the same time fortunate to putting good results right when it counts. We are in a sport where you are pretty much good as your last result. When it comes time for contracts to been signed, Pedrosa just seems to be able to deliver strong races. If you were to turn the results around and if he were to be strong at the start of the season and not as strong at the end of the season, then maybe he wouldn’t be a factory rider anymore. There is a lot of luck involved our sport. Just ending up with a ride can sometime be by having form at the right time of year. I think he has just been really lucky.

Why does Glenn Allerton like to race?

I guess it comes from being a kid riding around on a PW50, which I got for Christmas when I was five. I just fell in love with riding. It became an obsession of mine and all I wanted to do was ride motorbikes. I dreamt of racing bikes all over the world. That feeling of freedom you have on a motorcycle is awesome. I feel very lucky that I’m 34 years old and I’m still racing at a professional level and I still love motorbikes. I really enjoy the process of putting your helmet on and jumping on the bike and hitting the track and pushing yourself and the bike to the limits.