Maxima BMW reflect on Morgan Park ASBK challenge

ASBK 2022 – Round Five – Morgan Park

NextGen BMW wrap up their weekend

We knew going into this round that we would be up against it. We had attempted to test a few weeks earlier but unfortunately Glenn was only able to do one day and that day was mostly washed out. Then when Friday practice was rained out we knew we were in trouble. Basically we had completed 14 laps ever, at Morgan Park on the M 1000 RR, putting us at a huge disadvantage to nearly every other competitor.

With the news that Josh Waters wouldn’t be attending the round, a huge favour was asked of an old NextGen Motorsports rider from 2016 , and a close friend, 2 time NZ superbike champion Sloan Frost. Sloan who had not ridden a superbike for 2 years was to be in Morgan Park supporting his young son Nixon in the Oceania Junior Cup races and accepted the offer without hesitation and he was going into Saturday with even less preparation than Glenn.

Both Riders worked hard all Saturday but the last few tenths eluded Glenn and so Qualified P10 and Sloan P15. Big changes for morning warmup and we soon found out we went too far in one direction and also ruled out one tyre option.

Race 1 Saw both riders use the Hardest Pirelli available, with the team deciding to err on the side of caution as we simply had not had time to test all the tyre options, and knew that some others would fade as qualifying is one thing but racing is where the M1000rr shines. Glenn made short work of a bad qualifying position and was straight into 6th place, under pressure all the race he never gave up and even went faster than qualifying on the hardest tyre. At race end a solid Sixth place was his. Sloan made an impressive effort and managed to pass several series regulars and finished in a great 12th place.

Race 2 saw warmer conditions but the rear tyre choice was still a gamble. We chose to play it safe and run the hard tyre, a choice that was eventually proven the correct one. Whilst his start wasn’t quite as good, Glenn battled from 10th in a big group all race to an eventual 7th place finish, missing out on 6th by a mere .01 at the finish line. Sloan finished with another credible result in 13th and also set his fastest lap of the weekend.

We now have a long break before the championship resumes at Phillip Island and hopefully the weather will allow us to actually do some testing so as to continue our challenge towards the top 3 in the championship. Thanks to all our sponsors and supporters, we will be back in November.

Shane Kinderis – Team Owner

“A tough weekend but also a positive one, the team and riders worked so hard all weekend. The weather made it hard but Glenn never gave up. Qualifying poorly doesn’t help but we all know it’s not a one lap race and Glenn loves a challenge.

“Sloan impressed given his no practice on a track he hasn’t seen for years and on a bike he’s never ridden. It just goes to show how good the M1000rr is that it can be tailored to a rider in just a few sessions.

“A good points haul and the first BMW home for the weekend. Now we have a break to rest up and once the weather improves do some testing before round 6 at Philip Island.”

Glenn Allerton

“Going into the weekend we knew that we were up for a battle. We had limited testing time which wasn’t ideal but my confidence was high off the back of the Darwin round.  Unfortunately rain on Friday added to our lack of time to get a good set up on the bumpy Morgan Park surface.

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“We gave it our best shot, chasing setup during timed practice and qualifying P10 was not what we needed but we continued to work though it and progressively we made the bike better.

“Finishing P6 in race one and P7 in race 2, gave me 6th overall for the weekend and a good points haul for the weekend has put 6th in the championship.

“Really looking forward to Phillip Island and a personal favourite Tailem Bend in November.”

Sloan Frost

“I have a great relationship with Shane so when I heard that Josh wasn’t able to make it to Morgan Park, a throw away comment quickly gained momentum and before we knew it Motorcycling NZ and ASBK were pulling strings to get my entry sorted and it was time to get on track.

“I have an enormous amount of respect and trust in Shane. We have had some great success together so I knew the bike would be top notch, my only concern was my fitness, having not been in competition for over 2 years and just 3 weeks out from back surgery. Those of us who have had the privilege of seeing these works of art up close know it was an opportunity not to be missed so there wasn’t a moments hesitation.

“Sitting on the bike for the first time, the bike felt light with plenty of room to stretch out, which is great when you are 6.1”.We managed a total of 3 flying laps practice out of the 3 allocated sessions on Friday due to heavy rain which didn’t do much to calm my nerves.

“Initially I found the bike was rigid and the power was very aggressive. Obviously that set-up is great for someone that has come accustomed to the bike and is riding near the track record which wasn’t where I was.

“Over night Shane was able to take my feed back, cross reference the suspension data, brake pressure, throttle position, etc etc to create more suitable throttle maps, wheelie and traction control maps depending on my position on track. The next morning the bike was a completely different animal, essentially we dumbed the bike down to a point where it was docile so I could concentrate on going fast and once I gained confidence we had the ability to start ramping the settings back up in the electronics.

“We made a few minor adjustments throughout the qualifying and two races with a little pre-load, bar position and a tooth on the rear sprocket. My lap times continued to drop every session but the grueling physical nature of the track and my conditioning were the only limiting factor.

“The sophistication of the BMW electronics and Shane’s ability to process and apply all that information is sublime. The bike, the team and the atmosphere was absolutely amazing all weekend. Let’s just say if I ever get the call up again, I will be ready.”

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