G.A.S Honda’s Wayne Maxwell piloted his new CBR1000RR race bike into a solid second position at last week’s first official test session of the season at Phillip Island in Victoria, the new-look team satisfied with its debut outing.

Despite a crash on the second day of the test, Maxwell clocked an unofficial at 1.35.4 at the world-class Phillip Island Circuit, putting him in good stead for the first round of the Australian Superbike Championship later this month as he hopes to improve upon the number three position secured in 2009.

“The test was good for us, good to spend some more time on the new bike and also getting our first laps on Dunlop’s new control tyre that we’ll be running this year,” said 27-year-old Maxwell. “I’ll have to adapt my riding style to the new tyres, but everybody is in the same boat and I think we’ll be ready to run up near the front by the time round one comes in a few weeks.”

Under the guidance of G.A.S dealer principle and team manager Geoff Winzer, the team worked overtime to get the bikes ready for the two-day test which saw all the teams trying out the Dunlop D211GP Racer control tyre for the first time.

“We were very happy with the overall performance,” Winzer commented. “I think all of the Teams were in the same boat with trying to find a good set up to work with the new tyres. Considering we are a brand new team with brand new bikes, it is really satisfying to be able to basically pick up from where Wayne left off last year.”

The G.A.S. team are planning to get back to the Island for another session within the next week, continuing to develop the bike in time for the first round of the ASBK series to run in conjunction with the opening Superbike World Championship round on 26-28 Februrary.