Image: Keith Muir.

Yamaha Racing Team (YRT) has officially announced that Glenn Allerton and Wayne Maxwell will lead the factory team’s 2017 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) assault.

The pair have been carrying out an extensive amount of testing in the pre-season with Yamaha and Dunlop, preparing to try and improve upon their 2-3 finishes in last year’s standings.

“For a lot of people and teams, finishing second and third in the championship a couple of years in a row would be seen as successful and many would have rested on their laurels, but that’s not how I or the YRT team see it,” Allerton said.

“We have gone back and analysed our seasons with a view of what we can do better in 2017. I feel that we are going down the right path to correct some of the issues that we had last year and most importantly, I feel really confident on the YZF-R1M.

“The testing we did at the end of 2016 was invaluable and my feel on the bike was excellent. My lap times were good, my confidence grew and the entire team is excited about going racing in 2017.”

Wayne Maxwell, who finished third in the 2016 Australian Superbike Championship, expressed similar feelings to his teammate, stating that he and the team are in a far better position heading into the 2017 season that the have been in the past.

“We have already started testing and getting the preparation more sorted than what we did in 2016,” said Maxwell. “We head into this year with more direction, more purpose and more knowledge and we are also in the same series so we are leaps and bounds further ahead as a team and this will be a huge benefit as the year progresses.

“With riders, teams and even privateers stepping up their game, 2017 promises to be a tough year with a great level of racing and professionalism both on and off the track. There will be a new race format and it will take more than just a few fast laps to win a round or a championship.

“I look forward to the new challenges and will prepare myself better than I ever have before. The team have shown their commitment and its time we rewarded them with some championship success.”

YRT also welcome Yamalube, Yamaha’s range of premium lubrication products, as a team sponsor. The Yamalube range has been researched and developed specifically for Yamaha machinery and the new partnership with YRT will continue to refine the high performance product.

“We are excited to be joining forces with YRT,” commented Yamaha Parts sales and marketing manager Greg Haring. “A partnership like this allows us to work closely with the team so we can continue to assess, monitor and develop our products in the hardest of environments and then in turn make them available to the public. So, it’s a win for everyone.

“John [Redding] and his team do a fantastic job in promoting not only YRT, but road racing in general and we look forward to working with them and developing our products hand in hand with a proven and credible road race team into the future.”

With a streamlined package introduced entering 2017, as the team reduces from three to two riders, team principal Redding is eager to get the season started.

“We have never been in a better position entering a new season,” Redding stated. “Working with Dunlop and our extensive testing at the end of the 2016 season has put us in a good position and the commitment the riders and sponsors has shown has been outstanding.

“Both Glenn and Wayne are motivated for success and they see the effort we have gone to and that reflects in their own preparations as both riders have stepped up their own programs for 2017. Also being a two-rider team will allow each rider a little more focus on race day to ensure we are getting the most from them and the bikes.

“The addition of Yamalube is great for the team and for Yamaha as their product knowledge is unsurpassed and together we can only build on what is an already fantastic product.”

The 2017 Australian Superbike Championship gets underway at Phillip Island on 24-26 February, which will run in conjunction with Yamaha Finance round of the Superbike World Championship.