Features 3 Oct 2013

Rewind: 2012 ASBK season finale

CycleOnline recaps the race for the title in the season's final showing at Queensland Raceway.

A little over 12 months ago, Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) teams and riders were gearing up for the final round on the calendar at Queensland Raceway in Ipswich.

The pieces of the puzzle were vastly different to those that sit in front of us today. Leading into round seven was Team Suzuki’s Josh Waters, already a titleholder in his rookie season in 2009.

His closest challenger was Team Honda Racing’s Wayne Maxwell, with fellow factory Fireblade rider Jamie Stauffer in the hunt also.

Waters rode a 19.5-point lead to Queensland, reducing the pressure of top results somewhat and placing the baton firmly in the hands of the Honda outfit.

Maxwell’s season had been somewhat spoiled by a DNF early in the piece, meaning he was constantly battling to make back the ground on Waters.

Try as he may, he was unable to bridge the gap to the Suzuki at the close of the weekend, one that saw teammate Stauffer step up to the plate and take a clean sweep.

Waters, competing in only his second full season in the class, was pleased to confirm his second title with team Suzuki and acknowledged Maxwell’s efforts to peg back the gap.

Waters and Maxwell were the main title fighters 12 months ago. Image: Andrew Gosling/TBG Sport.

Waters and Maxwell were the main title fighters 12 months ago. Image: Andrew Gosling/TBG Sport.

“It’s just great to make it official, I can’t thank the team enough for everything they’ve done and preparing a bike that I love to ride,” he said.

“Its not been my best track and I knew I would have to be careful, I couldn’t match it with Jamie today but for me it was more about just getting two consistent race finishes.

“It’s a great feeling and good to win my second title as it’s only my second full season on the Superbike.

“Wayne was massively competitive all year and he did a really good job to cut back my lead – he had some bad luck early on and if it weren’t for that then it would have been neck and neck today.”

For Maxwell, the ask was a tough one. Though he delivered his best efforts on the day, Waters’ steady 4-6 race finishes kept the title out of his reach.

“We’ve been up against it since the early DNF,” said Maxwell. “We’ve been able to make up a lot of ground but in the end Josh was just too consistent.

“The team was obviously very quick this weekend and I’m happy with the progress we made but it was more of a case of something having to go wrong with Josh rather than us having to win.”

This weekend sees Maxwell, now on the vacated GSX-R1000 at Team Suzuki, ride a 31-point lead into the finale, heading teammate Robbie Bugden, with Glenn Allerton a further few points in arrears.

Time will tell if Maxwell can shake the runner-up tag and finally bring home a championship after nine front-running years in the ASBK ranks.

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