TWOTHREE PR/GLENN ALLERTON:

2008 Australian Superbike Champion Glenn Allerton finished second overall at Phillip Island’s seventh and final round of this year’s ASBK series last weekend, earning him the number two plate in the championship standings.

The Oleon Motologic Racing rider rode his Honda CBR1000RR to second in race one and third in race two during Sunday’s pair of 12-lap events, falling 10 points short of defending his crown onboard the Honda CBR1000RR.

Allerton finished the season on 291 points compared with the 301 of new champion Josh Waters, disappointed with the end result after leading the series from round two onwards, but vowing to fight back in 2010 to reclaim the title.

The weekend saw 28-year-old Allerton qualifying third on the grid following Saturday’s qualifying session and maintaining the two-point lead that he entered the round with, however a double victory by Waters on Sunday was enough to claim the series win.

Race one saw Allerton fight for position in the early laps before asserting himself in second position to keep his championship hopes alive, until a difficult opening first lap in the second leg saw him fight back from outside of the top five to eventually cross the finish line in third.

Those results earned Allerton his seventh overall podium of the season to maintain his perfect streak in the top three during the season, with five race victories and a single pole position highlighting what has been a strong title defence in 2009.

Glenn Allerton – Superbike #1:
Obviously it’s not the ultimate position I want to be in but overall the team did a great job in supporting me throughout the year. It’s probably my fault that we didn’t pull it off because I’ve had every opportunity to win races in the last four rounds and I haven’t been able to do it, so hats off to Josh – he rode really well in the last part of this year and put himself in a position to be the Australian champion. There have been a lot of races at the Island to finish the season and I admit that it’s not my best track on the calendar, but it’s the same for everybody and you have to try and adapt the best you can on every circuit.

To lead the championship for most of the season and then lose it at the last round is difficult to accept, but it’s definitely made me more motivated for 2010 and I’ll be back smarter and stronger. Thanks to Paul and Laura Free as well as the entire Motologic team, who really pulled together in a hard battle to round out the season. We only missed out on the title by 10 points and the level of competition is high, so second in the ASBK series isn’t too bad in hindsight. I’m ready and excited for 2010 already, it’s going to be a new year with new circuits and a lot of V8 rounds on the calendar so I can’t wait to get started.