Team Honda Racing’s Wayne Maxwell is eyeing redemption after recording his second consecutive QBE Superpole victory at Symmons Plains Raceway today, host of the second round of the Viking Group Australian Superbike Championship.

Maxwell had margin after his flying lap, with his effort of 53.722 seconds over four-tenths quicker than his closest challenger, Team Suzuki’s Josh Waters.

With pace proving no problem, Maxwell is eager to convert the result into race wins following the team’s trying trip to Phillip Island last weekend.

“We’ve had an up and down start to the season and the best way to turn it around is to start off pole and try and take two race wins tomorrow,” said Maxwell.

“Everything came together for me in Superpole. The team has found some extra pace in the bikes today as Jamie’s earlier lap proved.

“I’m where I want to be and am really looking forward to what will be a very close battle tomorrow.”

The result rounds out a successful day for the factory Honda team, with Jamie Stauffer smashing the qualifying record and setting the fastest ever Superbike lap of the 2.4km circuit with earlier in the day.

Stauffer’s lap, 53.271 seconds, eclipsed the standing record of Jason O’Halloran by over a tenth of a second.

He will start fourth after a solid QBE Superpole lap.

Absent from the opening round with World Superbike duties, Josh Waters will look to open his ASBK points account with a strong performance in tomorrow’s two 20-lap races.

Second place on the grid is a steady improvement for the 2009 Australian Superbike Champion, who admitted to struggling with setup yesterday.

“It’s good to be second fastest today, the bike is quick over a single lap and we’ll work on making it good over race distance for tomorrow,” said Waters.

“The field has two races on me already so I am really going to be pushing for race wins.”

Procon Maxima BMW rider Glenn Allerton qualified third fastest today with a consistent showing across all three sessions.

Positions two through to four were separated by just 0.071 seconds, setting up an enthralling and evenly-matched battle tomorrow.

The battle for Motul Superpole honours featuring the fastest four Supersport qualifers was just as intense as the Superbike class.

AARK Racing’s Christian Casella was fastest after the day’s merged qualifying session and was able to replicate the result over the course of fully-committed flying lap.

“It’s been a good weekend so far, especially considering the tough run we had at Phillip Island,” said Casella.

“The team has been working extra hard this weekend and it has really spurred me on.”

Points leader Aaron Gobert will start from the second row in position six aboard his Gobert Motorsports Yamaha R6.

The opening races of the Prostock, Superstock and Superlites categories were held today, with polesitters all converting their qualifying pace to race wins.

Cru Halliday won the 11-lap Prostock opener in emphatic form, crossing the line 3.8 seconds clear of Matthew Walters and breaking the race lap record in the process.

Halliday has headed every Prostock session this weekend, his Yamaha R1 proving the bike to beat in the diverse class.

Mike Jones recovered from a slow start in the 10-lap Superstock opener, and, like Halliday, managed to set a new lap record on the way to a comfortable race win.

Mark Wilkinson lead home a Kawasaki trio, with the ZX6R proving a popular choice amongst the 20-strong field.

Superlites honours went the way of Joshua Hook who continue his blazing run aboard his Aprilia.

Hook greeted the chequered flag almost 10 seconds clear of second-placed rider Nicky Diles, with Alex Phillis finishing third.

Each class will complete a 10-minute warm-up tomorrow morning before racing begins.

Viking Group Australian Superbike Championship
Round Two – Symmons Plains, TAS

Superbike Superpole Results:

Supersport Superpole Results: