18^th May 2012 – Round 4 of the Australian Superbike Championship has kicked off in style for Team Honda Racing with the CBR1000RR topping the timesheets in both the Practice session and today’s Qualifying 1 at Phillip Island.

 It was #47 Wayne Maxwell who recorded the fastest lap in free practice this morning, a 1:34.800 sec as the Honda rider tried some new settings before the afternoon’s qualifying session.

 The cool weather and dry track appeared to suit Maxwell today; his fastest lap of the 30 min qualifying session on a single set of tyres was on the very final lap.

Maxwell: “Today was obviously a successful day, to end up with provisional pole in Q1 is a great start. We still have Q2 and Superpole to come so hopefully we can make further progress with the bike in readiness for the races.”

7^th May 2012 – A fantastic weekend of racing at Barbagallo Raceway saw Team Honda Racing’s Wayne Maxwell take overall round honours for Round 3 of the Australian Superbike Championship.

Team Honda Racing's Maxwell is now placed 2^nd in the Superbike Championship after his points haul and overall round win.

#47 Wayne Maxwell 1st overall for Round 3 ASBK

It was the 1^st opportunity for the team to test their wet set-up for the season and they trialled a number of settings through qualifying with solid results. Maxwell was 4^th in Qualifying 1 and as they moved into Saturday’s qualifying, Superpole and ultimately Race 1, the team worked hard to accommodate the changeable conditions.

The second qualifying session of the event belonged to Maxwell who recorded the fastest lap time, a 57.797 sec in the dying moments in the changing conditions.

Superpole was, as always, a close affair with Maxwell just 0.137 sec off the Superpole point, securing himself P2 on the grid for both races.

Race 1 was declared wet and both the Team Honda Racing CBR1000RR’s got a fantastic start, but it was Maxwell that dominated the race. The determination of the Victorian rider shone through when in the final couple of laps he was almost brought undone by a grid marker on entry into the last turn and had to sit up in his seat, letting Waters past and losing more than half a second in the process. However, Maxwell was not going to let his friend and rival get the better of him and with an obvious resolve he powered on and passed Waters to take his CBR1000RR across the line in 1^st place.

Race 2 was dry, but a less than ideal start from Maxwell which meant that he had some work to do. Maxwell looked strong, but unfortunately, a crash involving Robbie Bugden on lap 9 of the race saw the red flag appear and the race was declared. Maxwell finished the race in 3^rd. Half points were awarded for the race as it was only 8 laps of the 17.

#47 Maxwell was the overall Round 3 winner and going into Round 4 at Phillip Island in a couple of weeks he sits in 2^nd place in the championship. With quite a few points to make up to take lead, Maxwell’s full focus is on perfecting the set-up of the CBR1000RR for the flowing Phillip Island Circuit.

Maxwell: “Taking the overall win for Round 3 is fantastic and to move into 2^nd in the championship is a real boost to the confidence going into Round 4. We made a few changes over the course of the weekend, trying some settings for the first time in the wet which was good; however we still have work to do. I’m looking forward to getting to Phillip Island in a couple of weeks. It is a circuit I like and I’m hoping to reduce the points gap between myself and 1^st place in the championship.”

Team Principle, Paul Free is confident that Team Honda Racing can carry the momentum of their Round 3 success into the next event at Phillip Island.

Free: “Wayne’s win in Race 1 and the overall for the weekend is fantastic and just what the team needed. The sheer determination he showed in that race to pass Josh and take the win is the reason I know he is a strong contender for this championship. We still have a way to go to make up some points on Josh, but you can be sure we are more determined than ever to see Wayne move up in the championship points. It was a solid weekend for Team Honda Racing and I can’t wait to get to Phillip Island to put these riders into battle once more. The Honda CBR1000RR of Team Honda Racing will be strong at the Phillip Island Circuit and I’m looking forward to the event immensely.”

05 May 2012 – Team Honda Racing’s #47 Wayne Maxwell is the Race 1 winner at Round 3 of the Australian Superbike Championship at Barbagallo Raceway!

Maxwell qualified fastest in the morning’s patchy Qualifying 2; his lap time 57.797 sec. Maxwell was looking strong for the Superpole shootout and did not disappoint; missing the Superpole point by just 0.137 sec and securing P2 on the grid for both races.

The track was very wet for Race 1, but Maxwell appeared unhampered by the changeable weather and got a terrific start off the line to take the lead and dominate for most of the race.

The highlight of the race was definitely the battle that took place between Maxwell and Waters on the final laps. A brief moment for Maxwell caused him to sit up, letting Waters through and losing more than half a second with only a couple of laps to go. However, Maxwell is never to be underestimated as he powered his CBR1000RR through the final lap to pass Waters in the dying moments and take the race win by 0.203 sec, his first win of the season.

Maxwell: “Fantastic to take the win for Race 1 today! I got a great start off the line and had pretty good grip. I felt comfortable on my CBR1000RR. The team put in a lot of work since yesterday to get the wet set-up right and it showed today. There is still some more work to do on the bike, but I am looking forward to Race 2 tomorrow to maintain the momentum and go for another race win.”