Wakefield win gives Maxwell 21-point buffer heading into finale
14 September 2014: Goulburn, New South Wales
Team Honda Racing rider Wayne Maxwell has increased his lead in the Superbike class of the 2014 Swann Insurance Australasian Superbike Championship.
Maxwell claimed round honours at the fifth round at Wakefield Park on Sunday, after posting a race win and two second placings in his three races.
Teammate Jamie Stauffer finished second for the round after a consistent day on the track, where he finished on the podium in all three races with a second and two thirds.
Despite a disappointing sixth in the final race, NextGen Motorsports’ Glenn Allerton finished the round in third place.
Race 1
There was a sea of red at the front of the grid when the opening race of the day commenced, and off the line it was Stauffer who burst into the lead ahead of teammates Troy Herfoss and Maxwell.
By the end of the opening lap, Herfoss had moved to the front, while Allerton pressed the Honda riders in fourth place.
Maxwell passed Stauffer on lap three of the race and with a mere 1.25 seconds separating the top three riders through three laps, the racing was intense.
Allerton was riding comfortably in fourth and had gained a comfortable lead of more than four seconds from fifth in Mike Jones (Crazy Dogs Kawasaki).
Jones was soon passed by Josh Hook (Team Honda Racing), while Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing Team) was faring the best of the blue bikes back in eighth spot.
Up front Herfoss and Maxwell put a nice gap to Stauffer, with Maxwell just holding back and waiting for the right time to make his move.
On lap nine disaster struck for Herfoss as he came off the track at turn four and onto the infield – ending his race, and giving him a DNF.
That opened the door for Maxwell, and the experienced pilot knew all he had to do was ride smart over the final two laps – cruising his way to a comfortable race win.
Stauffer ended the race in second spot continuing his good weekend form, while Allerton took the minor podium placing in third.
Race 2
As the lights turned green for race three, it was again Wayne Maxwell who stormed to the lead at turn one, ahead of teammates Stauffer and Herfoss with Allerton holding fourth.
Herfoss had made his way into second by the end of the opening lap, and looking for redemption from race one, he closed the gap to be right on the back of Maxwell.
The quartet settled into a comfortable race rythym before a huge off on turn eight saw the race red flagged and forced the riders back to the pits.
When the second part of the race got up and running, Maxwell moved around the outside of turn one and took the lead again from Stauffer and Herfoss.
Hook moved himself up into fourth when Allerton went over one of the corner ripple strips before both Bugden and Allerton moved back in front of him.
Allerton then made his way into fourth, but it was once again a battle of the Honda’s with Maxwell, Herfoss (who moved into second on lap two) and Stauffer streaking clear.
Heading through six laps there were no changes of positions at the front, with the gap between first and third just over half a second, and Allerton nearly three seconds behind in fourth.
On the penultimate lap Herfoss took the lead and rode on to win the race with Maxwell forced to settle for second, Stauffer a whisker behind in third and Allerton holding on to fourth.
Race 3
As race three got underway, it was Stauffer taking the lead from Herfoss, Maxwell and Hook – the later having a great start off the line forcing Allerton back into fifth.
Maxwell passed Herfoss on turn nine after the pair had touched a couple of times on the opening lap before a red flag was raised forcing a full restart.
At the restart it was Stauffer, Maxwell, Herfoss and Hook with Allerton again dropping back from the front row of the grid – this time back into seventh.
With nothing to lose, Hook made a wonderful pass on Herfoss into third and the race then became a battle between the four Honda’s.
Maxwell moved his way past Stauffer and into a lead that he quickly set about building on while Herfoss moved back past Hook on the final corner of the third lap.
Half a lap later the hometown hero was in second position as he made his way past Stauffer and eyed down race leader Maxwell.
Behind the Honda foursome was Allerton, Bugden and Jones – all battling it out for a top-five finish.
Herfoss moved into the lead with a lap to go before Maxwell came back past him on the straight heading into the last lap.
But Herfoss got himself back in front and held on to take the race win, with Maxwell and Stauffer split seconds behind in second and third.
Hook finished the race in fourth while Jones took out fifth place.
In the overall championship, Maxwell now holds a 21-point lead from Stauffer heading into the final round, with Herfoss a further 36 points adrift in third.
For a full list of results visit: http://www.computime.com.au/meetings/index.aspx?M…
Round 5 Results:
1 Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) 69
2 Jamie STAUFFER (NSW) 62
3 Glenn ALLERTON (NSW) 53
4 Josh HOOK (NSW) 51
5 Troy HERFOSS (NSW) 50
6 Robert BUGDEN (QLD) 44
7 Glenn SCOTT (NSW) 43
8 Mike JONES (QLD) 42
9 Cru HALLIDAY (NSW) 36
10 Sean CONDON (NSW) 32
Overall Championship Standings:
1 Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) 317
2 Jamie STAUFFER (NSW) 296
3 Troy HERFOSS (NSW) 260
4 Glenn ALLERTON (NSW) 254
5 Cru HALLIDAY (NSW) 220
6 Josh HOOK (NSW) 211
7 Robert BUGDEN (QLD) 206
8 Sean CONDON (NSW) 193
9 Glenn SCOTT (NSW) 178
10 Mike JONES (QLD) 160
More, from a press release issued by Team Honda Racing:
Team Honda Racing Increases Championship Lead in Style
Not everything went the way of the Honda today with #17 Troy Herfoss lucky to escape injury during a spectacular crash in Race 1 which cost him not only the race lead, but valuable points in the championship. Herfoss still managed to record the fastest lap of Race 1; 58.188 sec and regrouped well to take the next 2 race wins and set a new Superbike lap record in Race 3, a 58.025 sec on lap 7.
Herfoss finished 5th overall for the weekend and retains 3rd place in the ASC championship heading into the Finale. “It was a mixed weekend for me. It’s really difficult to accept crashing out of the lead in Race 1, but on the other hand it is hard not to be stoked with two wins and a lap record. The whole team worked so hard to put me on the track for Race 2. It’s a real credit to them for me to be out there on a race-winning motorcycle after such an enormous crash. The championship title is out of reach for me now so I will just focus on being up the front at the final event at Sydney Motorsport Park.”
The Race 1 winner, Wayne Maxwell was unchallenged once assuming the lead and crossed the finish line ahead of team mate #27 Jamie Stauffer with #16 Josh Hook taking 4th place.
Race 2 was not without drama for some; the race being red flagged and raced in 2 parts. The outcome for Team Honda Racing was Troy Herfoss taking the win and once again recording the fastest lap time of the race; 58.166 sec, just .026 sec ahead of Wayne Maxwell in combined times. Jamie Stauffer finished 3rd in Race 2 with Josh Hook taking 6th place.
The final race of the day for Superbikes was without a doubt the most thrilling. It was a true Battle Royale the entire race length with all 4 Honda CBR1000RR SPs vying for position. The red rivalry began with Stauffer taking the lead, followed by Maxwell, Herfoss and Hook. It was pass or be passed as the awesome foursome exchanged positions throughout. The only constant was the dominance of the Honda in Race 3 and at the finish line it was Troy Herfoss 1st with a new lap record for Superbikes, Wayne Maxwell 2nd, Jamie Stauffer 3rd and Josh Hook 4th to round out the Red Race.
Maxwell took the overall win for Round 5 onboard his Motul Honda and is very happy to maintain his championship lead. “If someone had said 3 weeks ago when I had my shoulder plated that I would get this result I would have had a difficult time believing them. I am super happy to take the round win and extend my championship lead. A huge thanks to the team and I am really looking forward to the Finale at Sydney Motorsport Park in November.”
A solid performance from Jamie Stauffer saw the Newcastle rider take a 2nd and two 3rd places today which not only placed him 2nd overall for the event, but also means he too maintains his championship position heading into the final event of the season. “The weekend went pretty well for me although obviously I wanted to come away with the win. Still, my lap times were really consistent and I am still sitting in 2nd place in the championship for the final round so we’ll see what happens. The racing was very close today and it’s great to see Team Honda Racing so strong. I’m sure we can take it to the final event and finish a great season on a high.”
Josh Hook is also looking to the Finale to finish his season with a maximum points haul. Behind the eight ball this year having missed the first event due to injury, Hook has accrued solid points throughout the year and is placed 6th overall heading into the final event. Hook took 4th overall for Round 5 and is focused on race wins at the last event. “It was a hard weekend for us, we struggled with bike set-up a bit, but by the end of the weekend we much stronger. A huge thanks to my crew, Shaun Clarke and Glenn Granger and to the team. I feel we have a good direction heading into the final round and hopefully I will be racing at the front to finish the season.”
The final round of the Australasian Superbike Championship will be held at Sydney Motorsport Park 21st – 23rd November when Team Honda Racing will make a final charge for the ASC title.