Team Honda Racing’s Wayne Maxwell is eyeing redemption after recording his second consecutive QBE Superpole victory at Symmons Plains Raceway today, host of the second round of the Viking Group Australian Superbike Championships (ASBK).
Maxwell had margin after his flying lap, with his effort of 53.722 seconds over four-tenths quicker than his closest challenger, Team Suzuki’s Josh Waters.
With pace proving no problem, Maxwell is eager to convert the result into race wins following the team’s trying trip to Phillip Island last weekend.
“We’ve had an up and down start to the season and the best way to turn it around is to start off pole and try and take two race wins tomorrow,” said Maxwell.
“Everything came together for me in Superpole. The team has found some extra pace in the bikes today as Jamie’s earlier lap proved.
“I’m where I want to be and am really looking forward to what will be a very close battle tomorrow.”
The result rounds out a successful day for the factory Honda team, with Jamie Stauffer smashing the qualifying record and setting the fastest ever Superbike lap of the 2.4km circuit with earlier in the day.
Stauffer’s lap, 53.271 seconds, eclipsed the standing record of Jason O’Halloran by over a tenth of a second.
He will start fourth after a solid QBE Superpole lap.
Absent from the opening round with World Superbike duties, Josh Waters will look to open his ASBK points account with a strong performance in tomorrow’s two 20-lap races.
Second place on the grid is a steady improvement for the 2009 Australian Superbike Champion, who admitted to struggling with setup yesterday.
“It’s good to be second fastest today, the bike is quick over a single lap and we’ll work on making it good over race distance for tomorrow,” said Waters.
“The field has two races on me already so I am really going to be pushing for race wins.”
Procon Maxima BMW rider Glenn Allerton qualified third fastest today with a consistent showing across all three sessions.
Positions two through to four were separated by just 0.071 seconds, setting up an enthralling and evenly-matched battle tomorrow.
The battle for Motul Superpole honours featuring the fastest four qualifers was just as intense as the Superbike class.
AARK Racing’s Christian Casella was fastest after the day’s merged qualifying session and was able to replicate the result over the course of fully-committed flying lap.
“It’s been a good weekend so far, especially considering the tough run we had at Phillip Island,” said Casella.
“The team has been working extra hard this weekend and it has really spurred me on.”
Points leader Aaron Gobert will start from the second row in position six aboard his Gobert Motorsports Yamaha R6.
The opening races of the Prostock, Superstock and Superlites categories were held today, with polesitters all converting their qualifying pace to race wins.
Cru Halliday won the 11-lap Prostock opener in emphatic form, crossing the line 3.8 seconds clear of Matthew Walters and breaking the race lap record in the process.
Halliday has headed every Prostock session this weekend, his Yamaha R1 proving the bike to beat in the diverse class.
Mike Jones recovered from a slow start in the 10-lap Superstock opener, and, like Halliday, managed to set a new lap record on the way to a comfortable race win.
Mark Wilkinson lead home a Kawasaki trio, with the ZX6R proving a popular choice amongst the 20-strong field.
Superlites honours went the way of Joshua Hook who continue his blazing run aboard his Aprilia.
Hook greeted the chequered flag almost 10 seconds clear of second-placed rider Nicky Diles, with Alex Phillis finishing third.
Each class will complete a 10-minute warm-up tomorrow morning before racing begins.
Superbike QBE Superpole 1. Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) Team Honda Racing, Honda, CBR RR, 53.722 2. Joshua WATERS (VIC) Team Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R, 54.124 3. Glenn ALLERTON (VIC) Procon Maxima BMW, BMW S 1000 RR, 54.182 4. Jamie STAUFFER (NSW) Team Honda Racing, Honda, CBR RR, 54.195 5. Troy HERFOSS (VIC) Team Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R, 54.630 6. Ben ATTARD (QLD) iStyle Natural Aprilia, Aprilia RSV4, 54.891 7. Robert BUGDEN (VIC) Team Mack Truck Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R, 55.008 8. Craig COXHELL (VIC) GAS Honda, Honda CBR RR, 55.319
Supersport Motul Superpole 1. Christan CASELLA (VIC) AARK Racing, Triumph Daytona 675, 56.926 2. Brodie WATERS (VIC) Team Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R, 57.281 3. Nicholas WATERS (VIC) Waters Racing, Suzuki GSX-R , 57.620 4. Kevin CURTAIN (NSW) / Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R6, 57.647
Honda Prostock Championship Race 1 1. Cru HALLIDAY (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R1 2. Matthew WALTERS (NSW) / Kawasaki Connection Racing, Kawasaki ZX10R 3. Brett SIMMONDS (TAS) Honda CBR RR 4. Linden MAGEE (QLD) / Coastline Motorrad Racing, BMW S 1000 RR 5. Nathan HOUTERMAN (QLD) Honda CBR RR 6. Ben NICOLSON (VIC) / Elliot Bros Kawasaki Racing, Kawasaki ZX10R 7. Daniel MOULTON (VIC) / Mornington Kawasaki, Kawasaki ZX10R 8. Anthony QUINN (NSW) / Coopers Pale Ale, Yamaha YZF-R1 9. Scott YATES (NSW) Kawasaki ZX10R 10. Phil LOVETT (NSW) KTM RC8R
Suzuki Superstock Championship Race 1 1. Michael JONES (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R6 2. Mark WILKINSON (VIC) Kawasaki ZX6R 3. Zach THACKERAY (NSW) Kawasaki ZX6R 4. Timothy McGREGOR (NSW) Kawasaki ZX6R 5. Daniel FALZON (SA) Yamaha YZF-R6 6. Luke BURGESS (QLD) Kawasaki ZX6R 7. James BECK (NSW) Evermil Steel Fabrications, Yamaha YZF-R6 8. Brenton HYDE (NSW) Coopers Pale Ale, Yamaha YZF-R6 9. Quentin BLAZLEY (TAS) Suzuki GSX-R 10. Kyle BUCKLEY (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R6
Motul Superlites Championship 1. Joshua HOOK (NSW) Aprilia RS 2. Nicky DILES (NSW) RSW Racing, Aprilia RS 3. Alex PHILLIS (VIC) QBE Insurance / Kallista Electrical, Aprilia RS 4. Lachlan HILL (VIC) Yamaha TZ 5. Jordan ZAMORA (QLD) Honda RS 6. Tom HATTON (WA) Honda RS 7. Mitch LEVY (NSW) RSW Racing, Aprilia RS 8. Hayden DEMAMIEL (NSW) Honda RS 9. Clint CLARKE. CE Earth Moving / Houghton Truck Hire, Honda RS 10. Aiden WAGNER (QLD) Honda RS
More, from a press release issued by Team Honda Racing:
P1 and a Qualifying Record for Team Honda Racing. 5 March 2011 Team Honda Racing are going from strength to strength at Symmons Plains Raceway for Round 2 of the Australian Superbike Championship. From two qualifying sessions and the Superpole shootout the team claims not only Pole position for both races tomorrow, but also a record for the fastest qualifying lap at Symmons Plains. Jamie Stauffer recorded the fastest ever qualifying time for the circuit in the second of the two sessions with a 53.271 seconds. Although not entirely pleased with his Superpole lap which sees him starting both races from P4 he is nonetheless happy with a front row start and the set-up of the bike at this stage. Stauffer: “It was a pretty good day for Team Honda Racing. We improved a lot from yesterday and the qualifying sessions went well. My Superpole lap was not exactly the fastest lap of the weekend so far, but I am starting on the front row. Setting the fastest qualifying lap for this circuit today was a big bonus and overall I think we are heading in the right direction with the CBR1000RR.” Starting from P1 on the grid for both races is #47 Wayne Maxwell with a Superpole lap time of 53.722 seconds, the only rider to break the 53 second lap mark in Superpole. #47 Wayne Maxwell: “It is great to get P1 today in Superpole. I really need to have a strong event here at Symmons Plains as I have some championship points to make up now so starting both races in P1 is definitely a step in the right direction. The team are really working hard to get the bike where I need it to be in terms of set-up and it is feeling the best it has so far this year. I’m feeling really motivated for tomorrow’s races.” Team Honda Racing has the first of its 20 lap races at 12:15pm tomorrow. Team Principle Paul Free is pleased with the weekend so far. Free: “We made some major changes to our SMART shocks overnight and fronted up to Q1 today with a completely different motorcycle from Friday. The improvements made both riders consistently 0.6 sec a lap faster than Friday’s times. Overall it was a terrific improvement and going into Sunday’s morning warm-up we are going to try some small changes to the bikes just to try to improve our grip levels.”