Image: Foremost Media.

Three-time Mi-Bike Australian Superbike (ASBK) champion Glenn Allerton was right in the hunt for victory during the opening race at Phillip Island, completing the weekend third overall in what was a timely boost for himself and the Next Gen Motorsports team.

Allerton made swift progress towards the front of the field in a wet opening encounter at round six, maintaining pressure on eventual race-winner Bryan Staring (DesmoSport Ducati) to take the chequered flag second.

“When you race in the wet it is a confidence-based thing, if you’ve got the right feel you can push and you can get a good result,” Allerton explained to CycleOnline. “I have a lot of confidence in the wet though, so going into the race, my confidence level was high, knowing that I have raced around Phillip Island before in the wet –  it can be a daunting place to race in the wet.

“It has definitely boosted the whole team, we actually did a test at Tailem Bend and did the five-hour at Phillip Island, so I have had a fair amount of seat time lately and it has all sort of come together in us having some good momentum.”

In dry conditions, Allerton finished race two in P7 and was fifth in the final bout, losing time to the battle for second when he was pushed wide by Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda Racing) at turn four. Nonetheless, Allerton’s results secured him third overall for the round, having to charge his way forward from ninth on the grid in each outing.

The series now moves to The Bend for its final round this season, a venue where the number 14 notched a strong 2-2 scorecard last year. That said, the Spectro Performance Oils-backed BMW M 1000 RR rider has identified that an improved qualifying will be crucial in his challenge for victory at round seven.

“I think qualifying is going to be extremely important and something that we have struggled with the last year or so has been qualifying,” Allerton added. “In saying that, on the weekend I did a 1m32.1s, if I had done a 1m31.9s… I was 32.1s and I was ninth. If I did a 1m31.9s I was fourth, it made such a massive difference to our starting position.

“It’s going to be crucial to be at the front, but I am going there with the expectation to win a race, because last year, I didn’t qualify well but I finished second in both races and at the start of the race, I was challenging [Wayne] Maxwell for the lead in the very last race of the year.

“Our package has improved a lot, the bike has improved and I feel like I’m riding better than before. Going to a track that probably most of us don’t have a lot of track time except for guys like Daniel Falzon and Arthur Sissis, I feel like we are in with a shot to win a race for sure.”

The final round of the 2022 Australian Superbike Championship commences this Friday in Tailem Bend, with a range of international talent including Jack Miller and Josh Hook to make a cameo appearance as the season draws to a close.