Image: Keith Muir.

Yamaha Racing Team (YRT) will remain in the Australasian Superbike Championship (ASC) for 2016, re-signing Wayne Maxwell, Glenn Allerton and Cru Halliday.

The factory trio will remain on board the latest YZF-R1 for a second full season after a successful last year, in which Maxwell was second, Allerton third and Halliday sixth in the ASC points.

“I’m really looking forward to 2016 and the second year working with the Yamaha Racing Team and the R1,” Maxwell said. “We came so close to winning the championship in 2015 and I know that everyone at YRT is determined to get the championship back in their hands.

“We made some great progress with the R1 in 2015 and we also have a range of data on where the bike worked well and where we need to improve, so I feel we are well placed to make our strengths stronger and turn any weaknesses into positives. The off-season has gone well for me, the team have everything in place and the continuity in our program should make for a better season.”

After a strong second half of the 2015 series Allerton will also be a title threat this year, set for a second full term alongside his teammates in the Queensland-based YRT outfit.

“I’m really happy to be racing with Yamaha Racing Team again,” Allerton explained. “We had a strong finish to the end of the year where I managed to put some good results together at the back end of the season and I started gel with the bike and the team. In saying that, I would have liked to have been stronger at the last round.

Image: Russell Colvin.

“We have a lot of testing coming up this year and the program for testing looks strong this year. This is important as we continue to learn and develop a new bike. We can build on what we picked up last year and with the starting package already at a high level, we should be in for a great season. I’m looking forward to getting back on board the bike at the end of this month.”

Halliday returns for a fifth consecutive season as part of YRT, which is his third in the premier Superbike division. He’s hopeful of contending for the championship after scoring multiple pole positions and winning in Sydney last year.

“It’s an honour to be back racing for Yamaha Racing Team again,” said Halliday. “I’ve always had a good relationship with the team and very thankful for the opportunity. It was great to win my first Superbike race and round last year, however that’s in the past now.

“I’m now focusing on 2016 and want to go after the championship. We’ll see were we after the first round, hopefully we can start the year off with a good result then build from there. Kevin Marshall and the whole YRT crew have the bike sorted pretty well.

“There is no doubt in my mind these bikes are going to be more than ready for round one. Instead of being starting the year with an all-new bike, we are going to start the year off strong on a good motorcycle and get a good bag of points early.”