Maxwell claims Perth Superbike spoils

Wayne Maxwell (Honda) has taken a razor-thin victory in round three of the 2012 Australian Superbike Championship at Perth’s Barbagallo Raceway, winning a closely contested contest over Josh Waters (Suzuki) by a mere half-a-point.

The duo won a race apiece, but it was a spectacular final turn pass in yesterday’s race one which was the clincher for Maxwell, who wasn’t going to let victory pass him by.

“It was a tough weekend with the conditions being wet and dry,” said Maxwell. “We had reasonable pace in the wet early on but it wasn’t ideal, and we were lucky to adapt quickly when it dried out.

“The bike wasn’t quite there but we worked hard to improve it. In the first race the conditions were really wet, and although we had good pace I nearly blew it two laps from the finish. We were lucky enough to get out of jail on the last corner and I was really stoked to get my second win of the year.

“In the dry we’re still working hard to find a setting with the new suspension. We’re slowly bridging the gap and it’s not for lack of trying – everyone’s giving it 110 percent. It’s only a matter of time until we’re back at the top.”

In greasy conditions on Saturday, Maxwell and Waters battled for the full 17-lap distance, with Waters appearing to take the advantage after Maxwell relinquished the lead running wide behind a backmarker.

Maxwell then staged a stirring fightback, and set up the thrilling pass with a strong run onto the long back straight. Local rider Ben Henry (Suzuki) was third from Ben Attard (Suzuki) and Cameron Stronach (BMW).

Today’s race was red-flagged on lap nine after Robbie Budgen – who had just assumed moved into second position at the expense of defending champion  Glenn Allerton (BMW) – highsided spectacularly at turn one.

Waters was declared the victory ahead of Allerton, Maxwell, Jamie Stauffer (Honda) and Scott Charlton (Suzuki), with officials awarding half points.

Waters and now leads the championship by 33.5 points (130.5 to 97) over Maxwell, followed by Allerton (96), Stauffer (87.5), B Attard (85.5) and Bugden (83).

“The whole weekend went pretty well,” said Waters. “Unfortunately that final race got cut short so I didn’t get full points and didn’t get the overall which would normally happen if you got a pole, a second and a first, but these things happen.

“I have to say a huge thank you to the team who did a great job to be in the top two all weekend and I hope Robbie is okay after his crash.”

The Australian Superbike Championship returns to the track in a fortnight at Phillip Island, again racing alongside the V8 Supercars.

BARBAGALLO SUPERBIKE RESULTS

Overall: W Maxwell (Honda) 34 pts 1, J Waters (Suzuki) 33.5 pts 2, B Henry (Suzuki) 25.5 pts 3, G Allerton (BMW) 25 pts 4, B Attard (Suzuki) 23.5 pts 5, C Stronach (BMW) 21.5 pts 6, J Stauffer (Honda) 20.5 pts 7, B Waters (Suzuki) 20 pts 8, S Charlton (Suzuki) 19 pts 9, L Safranek (Honda) 14.5 pts 10.

Championship: J Waters (Suzuki) 130.5pts 1, W Maxwell (Honda) 97pts 2, G Allerton (BMW) 96 pts 3, J Stauffer (Honda) 87.5pts 4, B Attard (Suzuki) 85.5pts 5, R Bugden (Suzuki) 83pts 6, B Henry (Suzuki) 80.5pts 7, S Charlton (Suzuki) 62pts 8, C Trounson (BMW) 26pts 9, C McMillan (Yamaha) 24pts 10.