Pole position point hands Waters the win at Phillip Island Josh Waters got the better of Wayne Maxwell in an enthralling game of cat-and-mouse today, winning the final round of the QBE Australian Superbike Championships by the narrowest of margins. The point for pole position, earned in difficult conditions yesterday, proved crucial as Waters and Maxwell rode to a win and second place each. The Team Suzuki rider led from start to moments before the finish in race 1, when Maxwell, biding his time, made the race-defining move over Lukey Heights. Waters attempted to come back at Maxwell on the fast front straight but missed out by just 0.087 seconds. Their pace was unmatched, with Glenn Allerton crossing the line on his Procon Maxima BMW almost 15 seconds behind. A difficult qualifying result was compounded for Team Honda rider Jamie Stauffer, who was lucky to re-mount his bike after a dramatic highside crash exiting the turn 4 hairpin. Despite his best efforts, Stauffer would go on to DNF a few laps later, along with Ben Attard whose i-Style Natural Aprilia suffered a mechanical problem mid-race. Race 2 was shaping up as a carbon copy of the opener, but as the laps ticked down the GSX-R1000 stretched its legs and began to gap the CBR1000RR. Waters went on to win by 3.478s, with Stauffer a courageous third. “The bike was fast in practice and qualifying and it was great to be able to get away from pole position today,” said Waters. “Race one was a real battle with Wayne, he stayed with me the whole time and got the job done on one of the last corners of the race. “When the tyres go off like they do in these races its hard to make ground, so I thought if there was any time to make a break, it would be in the first laps of the second race. “It’s a great way to finish off the year.” Maxwell was disappointed to miss out on a second race win and vowed to work harder than ever in the off-season to hit the ground running in 2012. “It’s a pretty strong finish to the year after our 200km/h crash on Friday, I’m happy just to be here let alone get a race win and a second,” said Maxwell. “Josh has had form for the last few races and it’s hard to stop that, we’ll push on for 2012 and try to bridge the gap because there’s definitely some work to do.” Both Waters and Maxwell scored points in just 6 of the 8 rounds, with Waters absent on World Superbike duties and Maxwell suffering a spate of DNF’s. They made solid progress up the championship standings today to both finish in the top 5. Wrapping up third for the round and the championship was Team Suzuki’s Troy Herfoss. Herfoss has impressed in his rookie year, and rued a mid-season slump as a missed opportunity to challenge Jamie Stauffer for second overall. He finished just a point shy of the runner-up place and has made his intentions clear as a championship challenger in 2012. “It’s been a great weekend at Phillip Island,” said Herfoss. “It’s been stressful, the wind today and the different conditions over the last few days. “We’ve been in a tight battle for second, third and fourth with the two Honda’s and I was lucky enough to come away with third today and in the championship. “I got a bit lost but have come back strong and have exceeded my own expectations in first year on the Superbike.” A courageous showing by Stauffer saw him finish third in the second race, despite the obvious discomfort from his earlier crash where he severely grazed his chin. Kevin Curtain was confirmed as the 2011 QBE Australian Supersport Champion today, but not before a number of nail-biting moments unfolded. He entered the event with a healthy lead over Team Suzuki’s Brodie Waters, but as Waters stormed to the race 1 win and Curtain struggled to seventh, the championship closed up considerably. Waters holeshot the second race, giving himself every chance at the title, but Curtain’s Yamaha Racing Crew had smartened up his R6 and he was able to hold on and score the points he required to wrap up what has been another successful season. “The crew made some good changes to the bike between races and it felt a lot better,” said Curtain. “I got off to a better start this afternoon and was able to hold onto third. “It’s been a great year, and a really successful return for Yamaha to the Australian Supersport Championship I’m happy to have played my part in it.” WNR Kawasaki’s rising star Glenn Scott showed he will be a true force in future seasons, taking his first Supersport race win to go with a second place. The result saw him 1 point shy of the round victory, taken by Waters, who was clearly disappointed to miss out on a maiden Supersport crown. Curtain’s winning margin in the end was just 7 points, with Yamaha privateer rounding out the championship podium in third, and first privateer, after a consistent year. Superbike Round Results 1. Joshua WATERS (VIC), 46 2. Wayne MAXWELL (VIC), 45 3. Troy HERFOSS (VIC), 34 4. Glenn ALLERTON (VIC), 34 5. Robert BUGDEN (QLD), 31 6. Craig COXHELL (VIC), 29 7. Ben HENRY (QLD), 25 8. Chris TROUNSON (VIC), 25 9. Trent GIBSON (VIC), 22 10. Ralph MAMMOLITI (WA), 20 Final Superbike Championship Standings 1. Glenn ALLERTON (VIC), 327 2. Jamie STAUFFER (NSW), 259 3. Troy HERFOSS (VIC), 257 4. Wayne MAXWELL (VIC), 255 5. Joshua WATERS (VIC), 243 6. Craig COXHELL (VIC), 242 7. Robert BUGDEN (QLD), 210 8. Ben ATTARD (QLD), 196 9. Ben HENRY (QLD), 176 10. Cole ODENDAAL (NSW), 123 Supersport Round Results 1. Brodie WATERS (VIC), 46 2. Glenn SCOTT (NSW), 45 3. Rick OLSON (VIC), 33 4. Kevin CURTAIN (VIC), 32 5. Paul YOUNG (SA), 32 6. Mitchell CARR (NSW), 29 7. Aaron GOBERT (NSW), 29 8. Michael JONES (QLD), 26 9. Ryan TAYLOR (VIC), 24 10. Chris QUINN (NSW), 20 Final Supersport Championship Results 1. Kevin CURTAIN (VIC), 187 2. Brodie WATERS (VIC), 180 3. Aaron GOBERT (NSW), 160 4. Rick OLSON (VIC), 158 5. Mitchell CARR (NSW), 149 6. Christan CASELLA (VIC), 148 7. Glenn SCOTT (NSW), 120 8. Nicholas WATERS (VIC), 113 9. Chris QUINN (NSW), 105 10. Andy LAWSON (QLD), 93