Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech and Wayne Maxwell kick off ASBK Championship defence.

Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech rider Wayne Maxwell has started the defence of his ASBK Championship in the best way possible, a race win and round victory at Winton Motor Raceway over the weekend of 12-14 March.

After the postponement of round one of the 2021 Championship due to Victoria’s most recent COVID-19 lockdown, action for the season finally got underway at Victoria’s Winton Motor Raceway for round two.

Without many significant changes to the specification of the bike over the offseason, apart from the much-discussed Magneti Marelli ECU now homologated under the recent rule changes, the teams focus on Friday was too further finetune the complex system allowing Wayne to have the feeling he requires to attack the technical Winton layout.

Following Friday’s practice sessions, where the team was able to learn and improve the setting each session, it was clear that the weekend would once again be a titanic struggle between Wayne on the Boost Mobil Racing with K-Tech V4R and long time, and much respected rival, Troy Herfoss on the Honda.

Both riders were the only riders capable of circulating under the existing Superbike qualifying record in each session, despite Wayne not being 100% comfortable. However, improvements were being made as Wayne, working hard with Technical guru Adrian Monti and Team Owner Craig McMartin, to decipher the data and adjust the settings after each session.

Saturday morning’s Timed Practice session saw Wayne and the Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech Ducati V4R secure second position on the timesheets, with another lap under the existing qualifying record to move directly to Q2 and a chance to fight for pole position on Saturday afternoon.

During the short fifteen-minute qualifying session that would determine the top twelve places on the grid, Wayne was able to fire the Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech V4R around the technical Winton layout in his fastest time of the weekend to secure second position on the grid for Sunday’s two sixteen lap races and Wayne’s 60th Front row start in ASBK.

Sundays first race of the season was an ASBK classic, it had all the makings of a classic thriller, twists, turns, suspense, and a thrilling ending that kept everyone entertained to the final corner. Wayne got a flying start from the front row on the boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech V4R but had to slot in behind Herfoss into turn one with hole shot master Arthur Sissis right on his tail. Already making a small break from the pack Wayne managed to dive up the inside and take the lead at turn seven, a lead he would hold until lap nine, Herfoss never more than and few tenths of a second behind as both riders lapped in the 1:19 bracket which was under the old lap record opening a two second lead over 2019 Champion Mike Jones in third. Herfoss made his move at turn three diving up the inside and holding the lead for two laps until Wayne repaid the favour at the same corner on lap eleven. Continuing to lap in the high 19’s or low 20’s Wayne led with Troy glued to his tail. Herfoss made a daring move at the fast turn five sweeper on lap thirteen to take the lead, Wayne tried to fight back on the outside but had to give way to his great rival. It all came down to the last lap, Herfoss lead as the last lap board was issued, the gap as they crossed the line .170 of a second. Wayne waited until the penultimate corner, diving up the inside and holding a perfect line one the way out Herfoss was on the gas hard and launched himself out of the seat but still attempted to get back under the Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech V4R at the last corner and unfortunately went down mas Wayne powered to his first win of 2021.

Race two saw track conditions change with the track temperature rising over ten degrees between races. The field got away with Wayne slotting into second position as the field made its way through turn one, but the red flags were out as the field begun the second lap halting the race.

Race two was restarted over a reduced fourteen lap distance with Wayne getting another good start and sat in second as the field made their way through the first few corners of the race. Despite setting blisteringly quick lap times for the first two laps, that were under the old lap record, Wayne was slowly losing touch with Herfoss. Showing great consistency, but unable to match the times from race one, Wayne held second position to the chequered flag to secure second place and the round win.

Wayne and the team now head to Wakefield Park for the next round of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance ASBK Championship Presented by Motul over the weekend of 16-18 April.

“We were in a world of trouble on Friday, Saturday morning again, a world of trouble, but my guys just kept pulling through when I needed them” said round victor Wayne Maxwell. “The race one win was for them, love it. There has been lots of chit chat over the offseason but at the end of the day it was the same two blokes at the front, just me and old TH. I led the first half of race one and I made a few mistakes, then Troy came by and he made a few mistakes, so I knew he was pushing. I worked out where I was stronger and on the last lap just sailed on in there fully expecting him to use the slip stream but was able to take the win. In race two Troy was just honestly too good, but we will take the points, take the round win, and take the championship lead. The weekend was a struggle from the get-go for me, I could not get comfortable on the bike on corner entry which led us to changing away from our normal set up and forcing me to ride the bike away from my normal style. We learnt a lot about the set up and tyres so in the coming rounds we can put that to use and keep progressing. To my guys, a huge thank you. To be leading the championship after the first round is a great start”.

“The weekend started off with some problems with the settings on the bike due to the two crashes from the test” said Team Owner Craig McMartin. “To the credit of everyone in the team we worked through them and found a good setting for Sunday. The first race was exciting to watch, and Wayne did an incredible job to get past Troy in the second last corner and take the win. In the second race we had a plan that if Troy had better grip in the hotter conditions Wayne would be smart to get a good result. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone in my team for all the hard work they put in over the weekend, without them we wouldn’t be in a position to get these results”.