Maxwell on Phillip Island pole with last lap flyer WAYNE Maxwell will attack tomorrow’s pair of QBE Australian Superbike Championship races from pole position after mastering a tricky wet qualifying session at Phillip Island today. The Team Honda rider banked the day’s quickest lap in the morning session, though the conditions meant he was over 5 seconds away from his own qualifying record, set back in 2009. Maxwell worked his way to the top with a 1m37.785s effort on the final of six laps completed during the 30-minute session, making the last-minute lunge on slick tyres as a dry line developed. The Victorian rider held out Team Suzuki’s Ben Attard by a margin of close to a second, and teammate Jamie Stauffer who was a further half-second away. Assesing the afternoon session’s track conditions and in light of suffering symptoms of a head cold, Maxwell elected to sight tight in the Team Honda garage, a move that would pay dividends. No rider could make headway on their morning times, and, with more bleak weather rolling in from the Bass Strait, the decision was made to cancel the QBE Superpole session meaning the combined qualifying session times would decide the grid. The pole is Maxwell’s second from three starts this season at a track he calls a favourite, but he knows there is plenty of work ahead of him tomorrow. “They were tough conditions today so it’s good to come away with an extra point and the pole position,” said Maxwell. “I didn’t go out at the start this morning when the track called for wet tyres, I waited for it to dry a bit and went out on slicks. “I was trying to get out a lap time but turns 11 and 12 were so wet which made things difficult. “I basically had to belt out an entire lap and then be super patient through that section and was lucky enough to set the quickest lap on my final run. “Tomorrow should be good, we’ve been fast in the wet and dry so we’re ready for whatever comes our way. “Josh (Waters) has form on his side so he’s going to be super fast we have to beat him to keep our hopes alive.” Team Suzuki’s Ben Attard out-qualified fellow factory teammate Josh Waters for the second time this season and is hoping he can factor on the podium tomorrow. Like Maxwell, he didn’t turn a lap in the afternoon session and said he would be comfortable in any conditions after a recent form surge on the Suzuki. “It was tricky for all of us today, there was a last minute dash to get in a few laps at the end when the track was at its driest during the morning,” said Attard. “We qualified second at Ipswich and second here so hopefully that helps us to a good result tomorrow.” Championship contender Jamie Stauffer is another that will be strong in race trim. The winner of the last round has a great deal of experience in the mixed conditions riders have faced this weekend, and will take every opportunity to move forward in the standings. “I probably could have gone quicker today but all in all it was a good result,” said Stauffer. “We waited until the track was okay for slicks, there was a section there into turn 12 which was pretty sketchy but apart from that it was dry. “The only mistake I made was coming in with 5 minutes to go, I thought we had longer and when I got back out onto the track I didn’t really have enough time to really get going. “Josh (Waters) and Wayne (Maxwell) are going to be the ones to beat around here if I can stick with them I’ll be very happy.” Points leader Josh Waters rounds out the front row of the grid on his Team Suzuki race machine, ahead of the second row featuring Procon Maxima BMW’s Glenn Allerton, Team Volvo Group Suzuki’s Robbie Bugden, Racer’s Edge Performance Suzuki’s Beau Beaton and Suzuki veteran and recent race winner, Scott Charlton. Though his times would not match those of the morning session, this afternoon’s qualifying was a chance for Prostock rider Linden Magee to stretch his legs at the front of the field, rebounding after a crash in the first session. He will line up as the second Prostock bike on the grid next to pacesetter Nicholas Waters who delivered another top effort on the GAS Honda Racing machine. The Motul Supersport field faced a similar situation to the Superbike riders, with the morning session yielding best results. Josh Hook got one up on points leader Mitchell Carr, with the Honda holding out the Triumph by around three-tenths of a second for pole position. Brodie Waters kept a watching brief in third, and Chris Quinn was consistent and quick in his run to the final front row position. The cancellation of the Supersport Superpole saw the times from the morning session stand as the benchmark for the competitive category. Daniel Falzon, Olly Simpson and Luke Burgess were all race winners in their respective classes as the opening Superstock, Superlites and 250cc Production bouts were fought. AUSTRALIAN SUPERBIKE C’SHIP at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Rd 6: Superbike: W Maxwell (Honda) 1m37.785s 1, B Attard (Suzuki) 1m38.762s 2, J Stauffer (Honda) 1m39.326s 3, J Waters (Suzuki) 1m40.298s 4, G Allerton (BMW) 1m40.451s 5, R Bugden (Suzuki) 1m41.264s 6, B Beaton (Suzuki) 1m41.928s 7, S Charlton (Suzuki) 1m44.160s 8, N Waters (Honda) 1m46.063s 9, B Henry (Suzuki) 1m46.784s 10. ” Supersport: J Hook (Honda) 1m38.213s 1, M Carr (Triumph) 1m38.509s 2, B Waters (Suzuki) 1m38.778s 3, C Quinn (Yamaha) 1m40.004s 4, L Day (Suzuki) 1m40.265s 5, B Clarke (Honda) 1m40.607s 6, G Scott (Yamaha) 1m41.267s 7, A Senior (Honda) 1m42.987s 8, M Levy (Suzuki) 1m43.597s 9, J Hoogenboezem (Suzuki) 1m47.043s 10.