A battle royale raged between two former Australian Superbike Champions at Hidden Valley today, with Procon Maxima BMW rider Glenn Allerton claiming race 2 and Team Suzuki’s Josh Waters getting the nod, by a single point, for the (overall) round win. 2008 champion Allerton finished second to 2009 champion Waters in the opening 17-lap stoush, and knew he would need to win the second race to have a shot at his fourth round victory in succession. The BMW S 1000 RR rider withstood Hidden Valley’s intense heat to take his race win tally to four for the year, but it was Waters who prevailed for back-to-back round wins in the Northern Territory. “It’s been a real battle with Glenn this weekend and a lot of fun,” said Waters. “To take back-to-back wins at Hidden Valley really is all we could have hoped for. “It was hard work in the heat but we hung in there and the pole position point ended up giving us the edge today. “Suzuki have done an amazing job with the GSX-R1000 and I can’t thank the crew enough for their dedication.” Waters is quickly making up the points deficit after missing the opening round while making his World Superbike debut. He entered the weekend in 10th and leaves in 5th on 88 points. Allerton extended his lead to 37 points today and acknowledged the Hepburn Motorsport’s quick thinking between races to give him a better bike this afternoon. “The boys made a setup change which made the bike a lot easier to ride in the second race,” said Allerton. “It was a lot better rolling into the turns and coming out of them and was strong from start to finish. “It’s a great result for us and the BMW just keeps getting better. We’ve added a few points to our lead and are really looking forward to seeing how the bike does in Perth.” Ben Attard and his Aprilia outfit had another exemplary showing today, with the experienced Queenslander scoring his second race and round podium for the year aboard the RSV-4. The iStyle Natural Aprilia Racing Team rider led the opening lap of race 1, and showed pace again this afternoon. Attard had the measure of Waters at mid-race distance but consolidated for third place after his pace faded slightly. “After a season of development the team has really come on strong with the Aprilia, it’s still early days but these results are really promising,” he said. “It’s really good to be up here racing in the top three and showing what the bike can do.” Consistent finishes in each round to date have Attard placed third in the championship, just a point off Team Suzuki’s Troy Herfoss. Herfoss held onto second place with two top five finishes today as he continues to come to grips with the GSX-R1000 in his rookie season. Craig Coxhell took over the top Honda placing in the championship with two fifth places today for the Demolition Plus GAS Honda outfit. The factory Honda Superbikes struggled in the Darwin heat, with Jamie Stauffer and Wayne Maxwell both failing to finish. Kevin Curtain took the QBE Australian Supersport Championship round victory with another a strong ride today. The Yamaha Racing Team rider won race 2, holding off teammate Rick Olson who had an improved showing in second. Polesitter Mitchell Carr looked set to challenge the factory Yamaha team following his maiden Supersport race win this morning but didn’t have the pace to stay in touch. The experienced Curtain said he had hoped to make a break early after falling back in the first race. “The plan was to get out there and get as much as a gap as I could,” said the YZF-R6 mounted rider. “I knew there would be nothing in it, Rick caught me in the closing stages and I wore the tyre down trying to stay in front. “It’s a good result for my own championship and for Yamaha this weekend.” He may have narrowly missed the round victory but Carr accumulated enough points to overtake fellow Triumph rider Christian Casella in the title chase. “It’s been a breakthrough weekend, everyone’s really chipped in and we’ve taken the Triumph to another level,” said Carr. After three rounds he holds a 2-point lead over Casella, with Curtain a further 3 points in arrears. Team Suzuki’s Brodie Waters went from second to fourth on the standings after a problematic weekend which included a crash in this afternoon’s race. Today’s support classes provided close and entertaining racing for the Darwin crowd. The Honda Prostock spoils went to Cru Halliday, Mike Jones extended his Suzuki Superstock lead with another clean sweep, and Josh Hook did the same in Motul Superlites. Shane Soutar and Jeff Rowe put on a show in the Superside class, taking two race wins from three and the overall. The Viking Group Australian Superbike Championships heads to Western Australia as part of the Perth Trading Post Challenge from April 29 May 1 where Superbike and Prostock classes will race as a combined field. Viking Group Australian Superbike Round 3 Overall 1. Joshua WATERS (VIC) Team Suzuki, Suzuki GSXR, 46 2. Glenn ALLERTON (VIC) Procon Maxima BMW / Dynomotive / Zoom Recruit. BMW S 1000 RR, 45 3. Ben ATTARD (QLD) The i-Style Natural Aprilia Team Aprilia RSV4, 35 4. Craig COXHELL (VIC) Demolition Plus GAS Honda, Honda CBR RR, 32 5. Troy HERFOSS (VIC) Team Suzuki, Suzuki GSXR, 31 6. Cole ODENDAAL (NSW) GAS Honda Racing / NSW Compensation Lawyers, Honda CBR RR, 30 7. Kris McLAREN (VIC) McLaren Motorsport / Kirk McCarthy Mem. Award, Honda CBR RR, 27 8. Jamie STAUFFER (NSW) Team Honda Racing / Oleon Oils / Motologic, Honda CBR RR, 18 9. Ben HENRY (QLD) Cube Racing / Australian Outdoor Living / Weld West, Suzuki GSXR, 13 QBE Australian Superbike Championship Standings 1. Glenn ALLERTON (VIC) 138 2. Troy HERFOSS (VIC) 101 3. Ben ATTARD (QLD) 100 4. Craig COXHELL (VIC) 90 5. Joshua WATERS (VIC) 88 6. Jamie STAUFFER (NSW) 84 7. Cole ODENDAAL (NSW) 75 8. Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) 60 9. Ben HENRY (QLD) 58 10. Robert BUGDEN (QLD) 57 QBE Australian Supersport Round 3 Overall 1. Kevin CURTAIN (VIC) Yamaha Racing Team Yamaha, YZF-R6, 45 2. Mitchell CARR (NSW) Carr Bros M-sport / Triumph / Peter Stevens M-cycles Triumph Daytona, 43 3. Rick OLSON (VIC) Yamaha Racing Team Yamaha, YZF-R6 38 4. Nicholas WATERS (VIC) Arai Helmets, Suzuki GSXR, 34 5. Christan CASELLA (VIC) Aark Electrics / Triumph Aust. / Alpinestars / AGV Triumph Daytona, 31 6. Aaron GOBERT (NSW) Yamaha / Graves / Hot Bodies Yamaha, YZF-R6, 28 7. Dylan MAVIN (QLD) Champion’s Ride Days / Honda / Palfinger Cranes Honda, CBR RR, 28 8. Brodie WATERS (VIC) Team Suzuki, Suzuki GSXR, 27 9. Andy LAWSON (QLD) Avweld Pty Ltd / Trucks Australia, Yamaha YZF-R6, 23 10. Jackson LEIGH-SMITH (QLD) Champion’s Ride Days / Honda / Palfinger Cranes, Honda CBR RR, 23 QBE Australian Supersport Championship Standings 1. Mitchell CARR (NSW), 110 2. Christan CASELLA (VIC), 108 3. Kevin CURTAIN (VIC), 105 4. Brodie WATERS (VIC), 103 5. Aaron GOBERT (NSW), 99 6. Rick OLSON (VIC), 89 7. Andy LAWSON (QLD), 69 8. Nicholas WATERS (VIC), 66 9. Glenn SCOTT (NSW), 62 10. Ryan TAYLOR (VIC), 58