Team Motul Honda rider Wayne Maxwell has again performed a clean sweep at Mallala in South Australia, to take out the Superbike class at the second round of the 2014 Swann Insurance Australian Superbike Championship.
It was the first time the Swann Superbike Series had been back to Mallala for more than five years, and the racing did not disappoint the healthy crowd in attendance.
Maxwell was a model of consistency over the three races winning all three and catapulting himself into the outright championship lead.
And it was a 1-2 podium finish for Team Honda Racing with Jamie Stauffer claiming second, third and second from his three races to finish second overall on the day.
Both the first and the third race of the day saw extremely close finishes with Maxwell passing Stauffer on the second last lap (race one) and the final corner (race three) to take the sweep.
Yamaha Racing Team’s Robbie Bugden was a consistent performer with his third, fourth and fifth placings enough to earn a spot on the podium in third overall.
Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing Team) and Troy Herfoss (Team Honda Racing) rounded out the top five.
In the overall standings Maxwell has leapt into an eight-point lead over Stauffer, with BikeBiz Racing Kawasaki’s Sean Condon a further 32 points behind in third.
In the Supersport category, Queenslander Callum Spriggs took round honours following his opening race win and second place finish in the second race.
Aaron Morris won the second race of the day, and when paired with his opening race finish of third, was enough to place him in second overall for the round.
Maxima Yamaha rider Aiden Wagner rounded out the overall podium with a second and fourth from his two races.
Local hero Daniel Falzon and New South Welshman Patrick Medcalf finished in fourth and fifth overall respectively.
The round win has consolidated Spriggs’ championship lead, holding a seven-point buffer to Morris, with Wagner a further five points behind in third.
Kyle Buckley took out the Kawasaki Insurances FX 300 Ninja Cup with a clean sweep at the second round, ahead of Brandon Demmery and Paul Young.
In the Kawasaki Ninja FX 250 category, Grant Jordan won both of his races to finish in front of Joshua McHenry and Stuart Green.
Victorian Chris Trounson took 72 of the 75 available points on offer in the Forumla Oz class to take the outright honours while Hudson Pitt edged out Sophie Lovett to take the overall points in the Forumla Oz B-Grade class.
Ryan Hampton won all three races in the Formula Oz C-Grade class while Daniel Parker claimed the round win in the D-Grade class.
Angus Reekie won all three races (as he did at the opening round) to claim top spot in the Nakedbikes – F1 class.
For a list of all race results in all classes – as well as the overall standings, visithttp://www.computime.com.au/meetings/index.aspx?MeetID=2014/SWANN2/.
Superbikes – Round Two Results:
1. Wayne Maxwell 75 (25, 25, 25)? ?
2. Jamie Stauffer 64 (22, 20, 22)
3. Robbie Bugden 58 (20, 18, 20)
4. Cru Halliday 58 (18, 22, 18)?
5. Troy Herfoss 48 (16, 16, 16)?
6. Sean Condon 44 (15, 14, 15)?
7. Josh Hook 38 (10, 15, 13)
8. Glenn Allerton 31 (8, 12, 11)
9. Rick Olson 31 (13, 8, 10)?
10. Mike Jones 27 (0, 13, 14)?
Superbikes – Overall standings:
1. Wayne Maxwell 137
2. Jamie Stauffer 131
3. Sean Condon 99
4. Troy Herfoss 98
5. Glenn Alerton 96
6. Cru Halliday 92
7. Glenn Scott 74
8. Robbie Bugden 73
9. Rick Olsen 73
10. Dustin Goldsmith 57
Supersport – Round Two Results:
1. Callum Spriggs 47 (25, 22)?
2. Aaron Morris 45 (20, 25)?
3. Aiden Wagner 40 (22, 18)?
4. Daniel Falzon 34 (14, 20)?
5. Patrick Medcalf 34 (18, 16)?
6. Jay Presepio 31 (16, 15)?
7. Mason Coote 26 (12, 14)?
8. Brayden Elliott 23 (13, 10)?
9. Mitch Levy 22(9, 13)?
10. Luke Mitchell 20 (8, 12)?
Supersport – Overall standings:
1. Callum Spriggs 114
2. Aaron Morris 107
3. Aiden Wagner 102
4. Daniel Falzon 90
5. Patrick Medcalf 80
6. Mason Coote 54
7. Aiden Coote 54
8. Matt Davies 49
9. Justin Di Giandomenico 46
10. Braydon Elliott 42
More, from a press release issued by Team Honda Racing:
Team Honda Racing Maintain Championship Lead
19th May 2014 – Motul Honda rider, #47 Wayne Maxwell has returned from injury with a vengeance to win every Superbike race of the weekend at Mallala Motorsport Park for Round 2 of the Australasian Superbike Championship.
Maxwell’s dominance on the top step of the podium gives him the lead in the championship over team mate #27 Jamie Stauffer by 6 points. Sporting an injured knee and wrist, Maxwell entered Round 2 at Mallala with a cautious drive to win. “I am thrilled to take the championship lead and had a fantastic weekend on the Motul Honda. Team Honda Racing, and in particular my crew chief Warren has been just fantastic. The team worked really well together and it was great to get a Honda 1-2.”
Now 2nd in the Superbike Championship standings after Round 2, Stauffer is looking to Queensland Raceway to regain his winning edge. “Round 2 did not quite go to plan for me, but 2nd is still a strong position for now. I felt good on the CBR1000RR SP and raced consistently, but I had a couple of minor moments and Wayne was right there to take full advantage. Well done to Wayne on a great weekend he raced really well. It was really good to see Honda finish the event 1st and 2nd and I am looking forward to Queensland Raceway for Round 3.”
#16 Josh Hook made a ginger return to the team after missing Round 1 due to serious injury and admits he is not quite 100%. “It was a very hard weekend for me. My first event since surgery a couple of months ago and although I was able to maintain a certain level of fitness in the down time I really felt it this weekend. I feel the time off the bike and not having a lot of time on the new tyres put me behind the 8 ball a bit. I didn’t qualify well and it really hurt me for the races. Still, I took 38 points from the weekend and will now focus on Round 3 in Queensland.”
The newest recruit to Team Honda Racing, #17 Troy Herfoss raced very consistently all weekend to finish 5th overall for the event. Herfoss is now placed 4th in the championship standings. “It was a solid weekend of racing for me this weekend. I couldn’t seem to place higher than 5th for each race, but my lap times were quite strong and I think with a few changes to the bike before Queensland I will be racing at the front. I now sit 4th in championship points which means I am still well and truly in the mix.”
Team Principal Paul Free is pleased with his team and is already focused on a plan to continue Honda’s winning ways in Queensland next month.
“Congratulations to Wayne for a fantastic event. He raced smart races and took advantage of every opportunity. Jamie was also very strong at this event, but a made a couple of mistakes which cost him dearly. Still, he only trails Wayne by 6 points and the next circuit is one of his best so it will be interesting to see what happens. Josh did struggle this weekend, but takes solid points away with him. We still have just over a month until Round 3 so I am sure he will come out focused and firing at that event. Troy had a strong event and his lap times were good. He is racing with the lead group and is very consistent on the bike. I am really looking forward to the next event to see what these four can do at Queensland Raceway.”
The next event for Team Honda Racing will be held at Queensland Raceway 27th – 29th June.