Maxwell makes his mark in Superbike qualifying Phillip Island qualifying and race lap record-holder Wayne Maxwell has put his Team Honda Racing CBR1000RR on the top of the timesheets at the conclusion of today’s first 30-minute Viking Group Australian Superbike Championship qualifying session. Maxwell’s thirteenth lap, a 1:33.442, was enough to dislodge teammate Jamie Stauffer from the top spot, a position he had maintained until the session’s closing stages. The form of the factory Honda machines is an ominous sign to their opposition, with Maxwell saying he felt there was more time to be made up in tomorrow’s second qualifying session. “The team is working really well,” said Maxwell. “I started off slowly in qualifying but finished fast, and we’re making improvements in every session. “The development of new parts and components are coming along great.” A two-time Australian Superbike Champion, Stauffer is itching to go racing on the Honda and feels race wins are achievable this weekend. “We’re still trying a few things out with the bike but today it felt really good,” said Stauffer. “It was a successful day for the team with Honda 1 and 2 on the track. “We’re not at 100% but this will be sorted out in the second qualifying session tomorrow.” Just three-tenths of a second off Stauffer’s best lap, Thursday pacesetter Glenn Allerton was again a factor aboard his Procon Racing BMW S 1000 RR. Like Stauffer, Allerton was quick early in the piece, needing just three laps to set his best time of 1:33.886. Superbike rookie Troy Herfoss continues to trade top times with an experienced field. The factory GSX-R1000 pilot laid down a 1:34.425 lap late in the piece, and will look to close the gap to the top three with further track time tomorrow. Team Mack Trucks Suzuki rider Robbie Bugden rounded out the top five, with the ever-reliable rider the first of five in the 1-minute-35-second bracket with a 1:35.297 lap. Yamaha rider Cru Halliday backed up his solid Thursday effort with the quickest Prostock time today. The eight-rider Superpole session will follow a further 20-minute final qualifier tomorrow for the Superbike/Prostock field. Brodie Waters is another to maintain an unmatched run of results this weekend. The Team Suzuki GSX-R600 rider converted practice pace into provisional pole position after topping both Supersport qualifying sessions today. Waters’ best lap was an impressive 1.484 seconds quicker than Triumph rider Mitchell Carr, the day’s second-fastest qualifier. “Team Suzuki did a fantastic job today,” said Waters. “I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s Superpole and the weekend’s races. “Today’s result was a team effort and I have to thank everyone involved.” Two Yamaha’s round out the top four times and positions 3 and 4 on tomorrow’s race 1 start grid. Yamaha Racing Team rider Kevin Curtain used his experience to set a best lap of 1:38.237, just seven-thousandths of a second shy of Carr’s time. Aaron Gobert had a solid showing and was fourth fastest on his R6. The top four Supersport qualifiers advance to tomorrow’s Superpole session to decide the grid for their first race. In the Superstock ranks, Mike Jones needed just five laps today to smash his standing qualifying record, raising the bar with a 1:38.592 in the morning session. The Yamaha R6 pilot will start from pole for tomorrow’s two 8-lap races. Zack Thackeray, Josh Hook and Mark Wilkinson all made solid improvements in the day’s second qualifying session and round out the front row of the grid in positions 2-4 respectively. Superbike Round 1, Qualifying 1* 1. Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) / Team Honda Racing, Honda CBR-RR, 1:33.442 2. Jamie STAUFFER (NSW) / Team Honda Racing, Honda CBR-RR 3. Glenn ALLERTON (VIC) / Procon Racing, BMW S 1000 RR 4. Troy HERFOSS (VIC) / Team Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R1000 5. Robert BUGDEN (QLD) / Team Suzuki, GSX-R1000 6. Craig COXHELL (VIC) / Demolition Plus GAS Honda Racing, Honda CBR-RR 7. Ben ATTARD (QLD) / iStyle The Natural Aprilia Racing, Aprilia RSV4 8. Beau BEATON (NSW) / North Coast V-Twins, Ducati 1198 R 9. Kris McLAREN (VIC) / Kirk McCarthy Memorial Award, Honda CBR-RR 10. Ben HENRY (QLD) Suzuki GSX-R1000 *Full results not available at time of release. Supersport Round 1, Qualifying (Merged results) 1. Brodie WATERS (VIC) / Team Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R, 1:36.746 2. Mitchell CARR (NSW) / Carr Bros. Motorsport, Triumph Daytona, 1:38.230 3. Kevin CURTAIN (VIC) / Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:38.237 4. Aaron GOBERT (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:38.257 5. Nicholas WATERS (VIC) / Waters Racing, Suzuki GSX-R, 1:38.315 6. Rick OLSON (VIC) / Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:38.388 7. Christan CASELLA (VIC) Triumph Daytona, 1:38.437 8. Blake LEIGH-SMITH (QLD) Suzuki GSX-R, 1:39.640 9. Chris QUINN (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:39.682 10. Ryan TAYLOR (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:39.793 Superstock Round 1, Qualifying (Merged results) 1. Michael JONES (QLD) / Reece Bancell Scholarship, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:38.592 2. Zach THACKERAY (NSW) Kawasaki ZX6R, 1:40.313 3. Josh HOOK (NSW) Honda CBRR, 1:40.328 4. Mark WILKINSON (VIC) Kawasaki ZX6, 1:40.631 5. Sean CONDON (NSW) / Swann Insurance / Bike Biz Racing, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:40.854 6. Daniel FALZON (SA) Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:41.009 7. Adrian DI GIANDOMENICO (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:41.043 8. Timothy McGREGOR (NSW) Kawasaki ZX6R, 1:41.312 9. Andrew KINGS (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:41.334 10. James BECK (NSW) / Evermil Pty Ltd, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:42.344 More, from a press release issued by Team Honda Racing: 25 February 2011 #47 Wayne Maxwell and #27 Jamie Stauffer topped the timesheets at the checkered flag for today’s first Qualifying session at Round 1 of the Australian Superbike Championship at Phillip Island. The Team Honda Racing duo were out in front early and remained so with Stauffer leading for much of the session and recording his fastest time on lap 2 with a 1:33.582 sec, however he was relegated to 2ndplace on the timesheets when his team mate, Maxwell recorded his fastest lap, a 1:33.442 seconds at the end of the session. #47 Wayne Maxwell: “Hats off to the guys; from Thursday to now we have come a long way and there has been a huge improvement in the bike set-up. We are definitely heading in a good direction. The team are working really well together and working with Jamie has been great as we bounce ideas off each other easily.” The team are eager to improve on today’s lap times in tomorrow’s second qualifying session despite their 1stand 2ndplacement on the timesheets. Always looking for more from the CBR1000RR, both riders entered the pits with feedback, ready to get to work finding those extra tenths of seconds. #27 Jamie Stauffer: “Today was a positive day; we made some good headway, but I think the CBR1000RR has more to give and the team have some great information from today to move forward for the next qualifying session. We are getting stronger each time we go out on the track so I think it will all come together well.” The second qualifying session for the Australian Superbikes will be at 9:20am tomorrow. Following this will be the Superpole shoot-out for the top 8 riders at 11:35am.