Maxwell smart in Superbike qualifying

Championship leader Wayne Maxwell secured pole position for the third round of the
Australian Superbike Championship on the very last lap of qualifying.
The 27-year-old put his Honda on pole with a faultless one-lap dash of 1min
10.244sec around the 3.12km Queensland Raceway, edging out the Honda of Bryan
Staring by just 0.071sec in the SuperPole Shootout.
"I thought I was in a bit of trouble when I saw Bryan's Superpole time, but I knew
if I kept it tidy I'd end up on top," said Maxwell.
"The bonus point for pole position is important as the championship is so close -
every point matters."
Maxwell had earlier set a benchmark time of 1:10.036 in regulation qualifying, a
time 0.347sec faster than the rest of the Superbike field and over half a second
under the V8 Supercar lap record of 1:10.5896 held by Ford driver James Courtney.
Staring, who had qualified fifth quickest after the two regulation timed sessions
earlier in the day, was the fourth rider in the top eight to commence the one-lap
Superpole lap to determine final grid positions.
The 22-year-old stunned his opponents when he recorded a lap of 1:10.315 to move
into provisional pole, a time 0.410sec under his previous best time.
"I'm happy with that as its the fastest lap I've done all weekend, said Staring.
"Our bike was down on top speed yesterday, but the team's been working hard on
getting the set-up right and it all came together when it mattered most."
Reigning Australian Superbike Champion Josh Waters will start from third on the grid
on his Suzuki, with two-times Australian Superbike Champion Jamie Stauffer
completing the front row on his Ducati.
Stauffer had been the pace-setter in Friday's practice sessions, but resorted to his
spare bike for the Superpole after technical problems beset his No.1 race bike.
"The circuit is quite bumpy so it's not easy finding a good set-up for the bike,"
said Stauffer, who holds the Superbike lap record for the 3.12km Ipswich circuit at
1:09.145, set in 2007.
"The bumps make it interesting though, so I'm not complaining.
"It would be boring otherwise."
Waters, the defending Australian Superbike Champion, recorded the fastest speed
through the speed trap at 273km/h, but wasn't happy with his one-lap shot for pole.
"I messed up my Superpole lap, but I've got a front row start and I know the bike is
good over race distance," said Waters.



Delete & Prev | Delete & Next