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-- Aussie Wildcards WSBK Prep -- BMW’s Glenn Allerton’s ‘hang tough’ strategy -- Honda’s Jamie Stauffer ready for international onslaught BMW rider Glenn Allerton has worked out a master plan to run with the leaders when the opening round of the 2013 Superbike World Championship is held at Phillip Island from February 22-24. Allerton and fellow dual Australian Superbike champion Jamie Stauffer will both be competing as wildcards at Phillip Island, and Allerton – ever the perfectionist – reckons he’s devised a strategy to maximise his chances in the crack field, which counts 65 WSBK race wins between them – with Carlos Checa the Phillip Island specialist. “I have been watching the tapes of last year’s races, and it’s imperative to get a good start and remain in that lead group over the first five laps,” said Allerton.”Then it’s a matter of trying to hang tough while conserving tyres, and then attempting to make up some serious ground over the last six laps or so. “I know I am fit enough to do it over 22 laps, the bike is in good shape, and I will be giving it 110 per cent to try and make it happen.” Allerton believes the move to 17-inch Pirelli tyres for the 2013 WSBK season – up from 16.5-inch – may prove to be a windfall for himself and Stauffer, as they have both been using the bigger-sized rubber in local competition for many years. That’s opened the door for the locals to compete on a more even footing with their international counterparts, in what could be a return to the glory days of the 1990s local wildcards became Phillip Island front-runners. The new 17-inch rule was introduced in WSBK to better align the race bikes with their road-going equivalents. “The change of tyres is something that the internationals have to get used to – I know some have been struggling with the transition -- and it may help to create a level playing field as we are used to running on 17-inch rubber locally,” said Allerton. “I do hope we can run at the front, because I used to love watching those races in the early 1990s when there were Aussie wildcards galore – riders like Peter Goddard -- battling at the pointy end. It was great for spectators and created an extra level of excitement.” Allerton’s local BMW team is just about to fire up the 220hp WSBK-spec engine that he’ll be using at Phillip Island, and during the construction phase there’s been a free flow of information with Alpha Technik, a German racing specialist with a direct link to the BMW Motorrad factory team. Allerton will be using the hot engine for the first time during the final pre-season WSBK test at Phillip Island on February 18-19. Allerton recently sampled the resurfaced Phillip Island surface for the first time, and he was suitably impressed. “I had a good hitout, and it was like riding on glass,” he said. “But it did take a while to get used to the new environment, as the visual bearings have changed and there’s not as much feedback through the bike and body with a lot of the bumps gone. So that’s something else the internationals are going to have to work their heads around. “Without a lot of rubber on the track it was quite hard on front tyres too, but that won’t be such an issue by the time the event comes around.” Meanwhile, Stauffer’s Aussie Honda boss Paul Free expects Stauffer to bring down his fair share of international scalps at Phillip Island. “I expect to see Jamie finish in the top 10, and I hope that top five is even a possibility – which would be like winning it,” said Free. “He’s such a hard charger and we know he will get the job done.” The WSBK action at Phillip Island will be held over two 22-lap races. In World Supersport racing, two Australian wild cards join the 33 strong international field – Honda’s Josh Hook and veteran campaigner and past world supersport star, 46 year old Kevin Curtain on a Yamaha. -- Schedule & Entry List (PDF) |
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-- Previous News -- 2013 World Superbike and World Supersport grids confirmed - Six Aussies to race at opening round Fanned by yet another massive off-season shake-up, the 2013 World Superbike Championship begins at Phillip Island on February 22-24 as the first shots are fired to crown a replacement champion for the retired Max Biaggi. The 2013 grid exudes class from every angle, with five of the six factory teams -- Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki, BMW and Aprilia – all starting the championship on well-sorted bikes, and fielding riders who have won 65 WSBK races between them. The X-factor is Ducati, which is inaugurating its all-new 1199 Panigale R in 2013 -- but with such an imposing WSBK heritage the Italian manufacturer is also certain to be a contender from the get-go, particularly with Phillip Island specialist Carlos Checa one of the riders. The championship opener is set to be the fastest world superbike race at Phillip Island on record following a $3 million resurface of the 4.445km circuit. The current lap record is held by Biaggi (1:31.785), but expect to see that time obliterated as the superstars of WSBK get down to business. There will be two 22-lap WSBK races on February 24, plus the opening race of the Supersport World Championship. A bumper crop of 35 riders are lining up for the 2013 season, all chasing defending champion Turkey’s Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) in the race for the crown. Local fans have plenty to cheer about at the island with six hard-charging Australians competing in the world championship classes at Phillip Island: Jamie Stauffer (Honda) and Glenn Allerton (BMW) in Superbike, with Kevin Curtain (Yamaha), Mitchell Carr (Triumph), Josh Hook (Honda) and Matt Davies (Honda) in Supersport. All but Carr and Davies will be making one-off championship appearances, but 46-year-old Curtain certainly won’t be overawed: he’s finished on the World Supersport podium four times at Phillip Island, including a victory in 2001. The on-track action at Phillip Island will be completed by the opening rounds of the Australian Prostock and Supersport Championships, as well as events for national Superbike and Historic competitors. The on-track action commences before 9.00am on all three days of the event. The even spread of machinery in World Superbike is really going to put extra heat on the riders in 2013, and one man who keeps on receiving glowing reviews is Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes. The Yorkshireman only finished half-a-point behind Biaggi in the 2012 championship, and the bitter disappointment of such a narrow loss has galvanised him to step up in 2013. Sykes has consistently been at the top of every test session since losing out to Biaggi, and his warm favouritism is justified – although he will shoulder a lot of pressure at Kawasaki with teenage team-mate Loris Baz seemingly not yet at the level where he can circulate at the front of the pack with regularity. Alongside Sykes, another rider whose deeds in 2012 didn’t require any sugar coating was Marco Melandri, who was superb in his first year at BMW. He led the championship at one stage before tailing off near the end of proceedings, but his aggressive game plan was brilliant to watch and it could deliver BMW its first championship in 2013. Melandri’s new team-mate will be Chaz Davies, who impressed in his rookie season on a privateer Aprilia. Aprilia’s factory team retains Eugene Laverty, while the fast but streaky Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli replaces Biaggi in what could either be a boom or bust decision for the Italian operation. But Guintoli is certainly great to watch, so expect fireworks at Phillip Island as he seeks to impress in his first official outing. Guintoli shared third places with Sykes at Phillip Island in 2012, with Biaggi and Checa winning the two races. Meanwhile, Laverty finished 2012 with plenty of purpose, so he could be the rider who keeps on piling on the big points for Aprilia. At Honda, perennial contender Jonathan Rea also has a new off-sider in the form of Leon Haslam, who was let go by BMW at the end of 2012. Rea, in particular, hasn’t set the world on fire at Phillip Island in recent years, but he’ll want to claim a few scalps at the circuit in 2013 to get his championship off to a strong start. And Haslam is already a known product around Phillip Island, having won a race in 2010 when he was Suzuki mounted. Leon Camier is again Suzuki’s big hope in 2013, and his confidence would have been buoyed after finishing off 2012 with a real sting in his tail. World Supersport runner-up Jules Cluzel will be his new team-mate. Meanwhile, long-time Suzuki collaborator, the Belgian-based Team Alstare, has now been appointed to run Ducati’s official WSBK team over the next two seasons, with Checa and Aryton Badovini to fill the roster in 2013. Checa, seventh on the all-time WSBK winners’ list with 24 victories, literally owns the Phillip Island real estate and has won four of the last six races around the circuit, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him give the 1199 Panigale R its best possible start on February 24. The WSBK title also welcomes back German hard charger Max Neukirchner in 2013 on a Ducati, while Italian duo Michel Fabrizio and Davide Giugliano will be Aprilia-mounted. All three could certainly challenge for race wins at Phillip Island and during the season, especially if the conditions become a lottery. While they won’t be on the bill at Phillip Island, three other Australians will also be racing in support categories when the WSBK title makes its way to Europe in 2013, with Mitchell Pirotta (Kawasaki) contesting the Superstock 1000 class, with Mike Jones (Honda) and Adrian Nestorovic (Yamaha) in Superstock 600. The official pre-season test (February 18-19) will be held just prior to race weekend on the freshly resurfaced Phillip Island circuit. All eyes will be on the time sheets as the riders experience the all new and bump-free island track. Buy now and save with a race day tickets from $75 in advance, and three day passes $135 adult advance or $270 advance for a family of four, plus a postage and handling fee. Tickets for Phillip Island are available at www.worldsbk.com.au or call the ticket hotline on 1300 728 007. -- Schedule & Entry List (PDF) |
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| -- World SBK 2012 - Phillip Island Highlights Video -- |
- World Superbike 2012 -
RND 1 -
BIAGGI WINS WSBK RACE 1 |
RND 1 - CHECA TAKES WSBK RACE 2 |
RND 1 - WSBK VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS |
RND 2 - CHECA DOUBLES AT IMOLA |
RND 3 - GUINTOLI & REA AT ASSEN |
RND 4 -
DRAMA AT MONZA |
RND 5 - DONINGTON DILEMMA |
RND 5 -
DONINGTON VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS |
RND 6 - SALT LAKE CITY |
RND7 - BIAGGI DOMINATES MISANO |
RND 8 - EUROS DOMINATE ARAGON |
RND 9 - MELANDRI WINS BRNO |
RND 10 - SILVERSTONE |
RND 11 - MELANDRI LEADS WSBK
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RND 12 APRILIA DOMINATE RING |
RND 13 - SYKES & LAVERTY
WINNERS  |
RND 14 - BIAGGI WSBK CHAMP |
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