The first weekend of the national road race season is in the books and, by all accounts, it was a positive one as the Australian Superbikes played the supporting act alongside the Superbike World Championship at the iconic Phillip Island.

Of course the Superbike category wasn’t a championship round nationally, however Wayne Maxwell’s first win aboard the GSX-R1000 will serve as a severe confidence boost on debut with Team Suzuki. He’s loving the focus put on him by Phil Tainton and the crew, no doubt relishing the opportunity on the defending champion bike.

Maxwell’s main opposition for the ASBK title were busy contesting wildcard roles in the world championships, including dual champions Glenn Allerton (Next Gen Motorsports BMW) and Jamie Stauffer (Team Honda Racing). Plus, Stauffer’s teammate Josh Hook was having one final ride on the CBR600RR in World Supersport.

ASBK title contenders Glenn Allerton do battle in the World Superbikes at Phillip Island. Image: Andrew Gosling/TBG Sport.

Allerton and Stauffer set a cracking pace on their slightly up-spec bikes throughout practice and qualifying on the WSBK-spec Pirelli tyres, also taking advantage of extended track time and the fact that they had internationals to chase around all weekend.

However, they weren’t actually separated by much when it came to race pace. Granted, Allerton and Stauffer had to conserve their tyres, equipment and bodies much more over the course of two 22-lap races on Sunday, while Maxwell could push as hard as he wanted to in the ASBK affairs at around half the distance.

It was a fun comparison across the weekend though that even the riders were keeping an eye on, because they’re all aware that once they arrive at Symmonds Plains in Tasmania come early April, points will be on the line and every ounce of knowledge will count toward strong results.

What was also promising throughout the weekend was the competitiveness of Chas Hern, Linden Magee and Beau Beaton up against the stiff competition of Maxwell. All three were engaged in major battles at stages during the event, setting up a spectacular race within a race for top privateer honours (Allerton apparently won’t race for the Privateer Cup in 2013 even though he has no true factory support).

Another interesting battle that we hadn’t seen in a while was the tyre war that’s heating up by the minute, especially between Dunlop and Pirelli. It’s too early to say what brand will have the upper hand, but I know Dunlop is stepping up to the challenge and Pirelli are putting major resources into taking the title from them – especially with two-time champ Allerton on their Italian rubber.

Reigning Superstock champion Daniel Falzon won on debut in Supersport. Image: Andrew Gosling/TBG Sport.

Supersport was another highlight of the weekend as the former Superstock class is now combined, so the grid was large and there was a fair share of young and experienced talent in the mix. The racing was incredible too, which bodes well for an entertaining year ahead even without any factory teams participating.

This weekend will see the FX-Superbike series get underway at Sydney Motorsport Park, not too long after the 2012 series concluded late last year at the same venue! There are a lot of unanswered questions remaining here and the fact that Yamaha hasn’t done any testing in the pre-season means we’ll see Broc Parkes on an R1 for the first time, plus Rick Olson and Cru Halliday returning to R6s for the first time in a long time. Kev Curtain in Formula Oz will also be something to watch – how fast can he go?

That’s it for this week, thank you for stopping by and remember, check us out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for plenty from behind the scenes. Just search CycleOnline.