The form guide for the 2011 Viking Group Australian Superbike Championships was filled in further today as competitors took to the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit for a full day of official testing. The searing Victorian sun made for a greasy track, with top Superbike contenders lapping around half a second off the pace across the day’s various sessions. On paper, Team Honda Racing has the experience and equipment to be a championship challenger, and 2010 ASBK runner-up Wayne Maxwell put this potential into practice with the quickest unofficial lap. Maxwell, 28, came agonizingly close to his first Superbike title last year, ruing a lack of consistency as his downfall. With the pointscore reset to zero ahead of next week’s opening round, the Victorian is eager to make every race count. “The team has been working hard on developing new components for the bike and today’s test was a good way to verify what we’ve been doing,” explained Maxwell. “I’m happy with today’s progress and the overall direction we’re going in so far. The bike works really well on the new control tyres and everyone seems very happy with the decision to use them for 2011 which will make for an even playing field.” Maxwell shrugged off the favourite tag and was determined to let his results do the talking. “The favourite tag has been floating around for a few seasons and I’m yet to convert. The field is quite different to previous years but there are still any number of guys that could win, I’m out there to do my best.” Teammate Jamie Stauffer clocked the day’s second-quickest unofficial lap, and with experience, and two Superbike titles on his side, could be one of Maxwell’s biggest threats. 2010 Australian Supersport Champion Troy Herfoss joins the Superbike ranks this year, and the gifted racer will certainly be one to watch. Piloting a Team Suzuki GSX-R1000 under the guidance of Phil Tainton, Herfoss has adapted quickly to the task and despite the day’s difficult conditions was able to set the third-quickest unofficial time. The last man to win an ASBK race has switched manufacturers for 2011. 2008 champion Glenn Allerton will spearhead the Hepburn Motorsport effort on a BMW S 1000 R Superbike, a machine packed full of potential. Allerton was within reach of the top three today, an encouraging sign given his very limited time on the bike. “It’s early days but the signs are promising and I’m very excited to start racing this bike,” said Allerton. “The BMW is amazing, especially on a fast flowing track like Phillip Island. “We’ll take away what we’ve learnt from testing and build on the best setup possible for the opening round next week.” Over 50 riders across all championship classes took part in today’s full day practice, which was divided into a number of equal 20-minute sessions. The traditional season opener at the Phillip Island World Superbike event is just over a week away, and will be hosted from February 25-27.