Mister BMW in Australia: An interview with Glenn Allerton.
Munich. With no doubt, Glenn Allerton is the most successful BMW racer in Australia, representing the colours of BMW Motorrad Motorsport for many years. Since 2011, Allerton has been racing with BMW in the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK). After a first title win in 2008, he added two more championship crowns to his tally in 2011 and 2014 on the BMW S 1000 RR. This season, he is competing again with team NextGen Motorsports in ASBK. After five rounds (that included a podium for Allerton at Darwin), the ASBK season is currently in a break before it resumes in November. We took the opportunity to chat with Allerton about the season so far, the BMW M 1000 RR, his goals for the final races of the year and much more.
An interview with Glenn Allerton.
Glenn Allerton © NextGen Motorsports
Glenn, what is the situation down under? Is racing going back to normal after the pandemic limitations?
Glenn Allerton: “Yes, racing is definitely going back to normal since the pandemic. We are back to racing and we are pretty lucky here in Australia; we don’t have any sorts of restrictions anymore so we are going back to normal.”
ASBK is having a longer break at the moment – as it is winter in Australia. How satisfied are you with the five rounds that had been held so far – including P2 on the podium at Darwin?
Allerton: “This year, on paper, it doesn’t look very good but there is always a story behind that. We had some problems at the first round where I had a big crash at the test. That set us back because a lot of equipment was damaged, the frame was damaged, and then we had a shortage of equipment to put the bike together and I also hurt myself. So our first round wasn’t great but I feel that we actually made some good progress with the bike. Then we nicely progressed through the rest of the races to the point when we got second at Darwin. At Darwin, the bike was working really well, we were utilising a lot of the advances made on the Race Calibration Kit which really makes the bike great to ride, like we were tuning the engine brake in a lot of areas to help with corner entry because it was a weekend where we raced with the V8 Supercars. The V8 Supercars have a controlled tyre and that tyre’s really, really hard so that the cars don’t wear them out, so that was making it really challenging for us, especially on corner entry because the track had a lot of rubber of cars on it. The bikes were very unstable on the brakes because Darwin has some really hard braking areas and my bike performed really good there because we were able to tune the engine brake for each part of the track. Yes, it was a really good race for us. Now we have a long break and it is very cold here in Australia. We are having a really cold winter, especially here in Sydney; there has been a lot of rain and unseasonable cold weather so I am looking forward to getting back on the bike in about four weeks.”
Glenn Allerton © NextGen Motorsports
What was your best race of the season to date?
Allerton: “That was definitely Darwin when I finished second because we were in a race-long battle. I started tenth and just slowly battled my way up to second and even on the last lap I was battling from third, fourth position to second and then back to third and back to second. All along the last corner it was a battle to the line. I was really happy for the team. Darwin is a massive race for us as far as the commitment. It’s 4,000 kms away our base so it's four days of driving for the team. I am lucky, I get to fly there but huge commitment from the team to get there, get the set-up and do everything like that, so at the end of a massive weekend it was great to get on the podium and give the team back a reward for all our efforts.”
Glenn Allerton © NextGen Motorsports
How would you compare the BMW M 1000 RR with the BMW S 1000 RR?
Allerton: “I definitely feel like the M is just a smoother, more refined version of the S. I feel like the power feels smoother and more linear. I like the way like the rear linkage performs. This is definitely good with the Superstock rules we have; we have to use the standard linkage and the rear linkage in the M makes the bike feel more planted and gives direct feel of the rear tyre so I really enjoy that.”
This season, you have a new team-mate at NextGen Motorsports, Josh Waters – how do you get along?
Allerton: “Josh and I get along great. We were team-mates back in 2004 in the 600 cc class and yes, Josh and I get along really well. He is strong competitor and off the track we get on good.”
Glenn Allerton © NextGen Motorsports
What are your goals for the final two rounds in November and December?
Allerton: “It is kind of compressed at the end of the year for us. Our next race is with the World Superbikes at Phillip Island in November and I am expecting to be in the top three or four there because I know the track really well from over the years and I know how to do a fast lap around there and I feel like our bike has improved a lot. To be on the podium is the expectation. Then we have a short turnaround of one week and go to The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia where last year I finished second. We had finished the year with second place at The Bend and we were in front of Jack Miller which was a really great achievement. Jack plans to race there again this year so it will be exciting racing against him again.”
Glenn Allerton © NextGen Motorsports
No racing at the moment due to the break but I guess you’re pretty busy anyway? What are you doing at the moment?
Allerton: “I am right in the middle of a training block for cycling. In about four weeks’ time, I am competing in a national road series cycling event being run at same place where the world road race championships for cycling will be held. That’s down in Wollongong here in New South Wales and it’s a national road masters for Australians to compete in and I am in a training block for that. I also like to run and do some gym work, but aside from the training I also have some work that I do at the local race track here at Eastern Creek. I have a little suspension set-up workshop, so I go to track days and I help track day punters with their suspension set-up so they have a track setting and help them with tyres, tyre pressures. We have about three or four track days a month so we are pretty busy with that. And I am always trying to promote the BMW brand when I’m out on the track and I just enjoy being at the race track all the time.”
