Day 2 Phillip Island Superbikes
Wayne Maxwell has won Round 6 of the Australian Superbike Championship at Phillip Island.
Superbikes at the Island 2010 – Day 2
Honda rider Wayne Maxwell emerged the victor of a race-long battle with Jamie Stauffer and in today’s second and final race at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, round 6 of the Viking Group Australian Superbike Championship. Stauffer gave up second place to Bryan Staring after an “out of the seat” moment on the last lap.
After second place yesterday, today’s result also secures round victory for Maxwell, who won the opener at the same track in February. The 10-lap race looked certain to end in redemption for Ducati Motologic Racing’s Jamie Stauffer, who recovered quickly after a slow start from pole position. The two-time Australian Superbike Champion passed Maxwell for the lead on lap 4, and the lead changed twice more across the course of the same 4.45km lap.
The battle continued for much of the race, until Maxwell took advantage of a mistake from Stauffer on the final lap, taking the lead and the chequered flag. Bryan Staring slipped past Stauffer for second in what has been another solid showing. Maxwell ended Staring’s win streak and is still well in contention for the championship with a round remaining.
“The lead changed every lap and I was just hanging it out there, taking anything that came to me,” said Maxwell. “In the last few laps we were probably all lacking the grip to pull away. Jamie made a small error and I was able to get by him.”
Staring congratulated his fellow competitors on a closely-fought race. “I had a good view of Wayne and Jamie and knew I’d need to stay with them should any opportunity come up,” said Staring. “The bike was working well and I put myself in a position to make a move on Jamie when he slowed and ran wide. It was a great battle and hopefully got the attention of a few four-wheel fans both at the track and on TV.”
Stauffer scored his fourth race podium of the season despite luck deserting him this weekend. “It’s disappointing to not come away with a win today when we clearly had the pace to do so,” said Stauffer. “The bike was fantastic this weekend, it just seems like the only thing we’re missing is luck. “I’m really hoping we can come out of the blocks fast and take two wins at the final round as a reward for the team’s efforts this year.”
Supersport
The second of the weekend’s Insure My Ride Australian Supersport races was just as entertaining. It was a race of three as Team Suzuki’s Troy Herfoss, Sunstate Racing’s Brodie Waters and Triumph’s Christian Casella swapped places lap after lap. The entry to turn 1 was the site of numerous overtaking moves, with each of the riders leading the race on multiple occasions. The eventual result could not have been scripted.
Casella led Herfoss out of the final turn but appeared to lose his advantage as the championship leader pulled out of the draught at the finish line. 0.003 of a second was all that separated the pair as the race came to a close, with Casella securing his first win of the year. The round podium result mirrored the current points placings – Herfoss first, Casella second and Waters third.
With the penultimate round wrapped up, riders and teams will turn their attention to the final event on the 2010 calendar, Symmon’s Plains. Three class champions will be crowned at the November 12-14 event – Superbike, Supersport and Superstock 1000 A&B.
