Wayne Maxwell: Carrying the Momentum

Momentum. It’s a powerful thing in motorsport, or any form of sport for that matter.

When an athlete scores a couple of big results in succession, their confidence has a way of snowballing, in such a fashion it can make them unstoppable. And it’s this sort of momentum 2013 Australian Superbike Champion Wayne Maxwell is carrying into the last two rounds of the 2019 season.

Returning to Suzuki after several seasons at Yamaha, Maxwell’s campaign got off to the perfect start with a win in the very first season at Phillip Island. An unfortunate tangle with Aiden Wagner saw Maxwell chalking up an unfortunate DNF in Race 2, but he recovered with sixth in Race 2.

A consistent run at Wakefield Park netted Maxwell third overall, before another DNF in the opening race at The Bend, this time after contact with Daniel Falzon.

Since then though, Maxwell has not finished a race outside the top three, and after overall wins at Morgan Park and Winton, he is arguably the form rider heading into the all-important final two events.

“It’s been fantastic being reunited with Suzuki, apart from being re-united with some of the old guys, I’ve also enjoyed working with some new faces like (team-owner) Dale Brede,” he said.

“The start of the season was a bit up-and-down. We obviously started well at Phillip Island, but the incident in Race 2 pulled our momentum up.

“At Wakefield Park, I struggled with a bit of fitness and at The Bend, it was very much a tyre war, but we ended the weekend as the top Pirelli runner.

“At Morgan Park, I was very pleasantly surprised – I felt it would be my weakest track, so to come away with the round win was fantastic and certainly gave me a lot of confidence heading to Winton, where we were very fast as well.”

Maxwell said the Suzuki’s characteristics are well-suited to his riding style.

“Compared to the Yamaha, the Suzuki is a bit more stable, and I like the acceleration with the variable cam timing,” he said.

“Don’t get me wrong, I had a great time with Yamaha and won lots of races, but by the end I felt like I had exhausted all the setup adjustments. This year has been good to start fresh with a different bike, and to be able to try different setups.”

This season, Maxwell has also been riding alongside a new team-mate, in the form of Josh Waters. He said the relationship has been trouble-free.

“Josh and I have been friends and rivals for a long time, and so far we’ve worked well together,” he said.

“We both like completely different setups, but our feedback on the bike and how it’s behaving has been similar.”

Maxwell and his Suzuki team now head to Phillip Island, a circuit where both rider and team have a strong form line. But Maxwell is refusing to take anything for granted.

“We tested at the Island on Monday and the bike was very fast out of the box, so I’m feeling positive,” he said.

“But the series this year has been so competitive – it’s probably the deepest field since I started racing in ASBK. Some of the riders like Cru Halliday and Mike Jones have become a lot more consistent, and if all the front-runners fire on their day, it’s a very difficult challenge to win races. It’s great for the category and the fans.”

Head to ASBK.com.au for more info about Round 6 of the 2019 Australian Superbike Championship.

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