Team Suzuki’s Wayne Maxwell ventured into the Sydney Motorsport Park weekend still in search of a first points-paying win on the GSX-R1000.

He didn’t come away with one win, rather, he secured all four, in a dominant display. We caught up with him to break down a busy four days and find out how he achieved such a stellar result.

Wayne Maxwell was understandably pumped with his weekend clean sweep. Image: Andrew Gosling/TBG Sport.

The Sydney Motorsport Park weekend was close to perfect for you – you won every race and both rounds, and take a sizeable lead in the title race. Could you have imagined coming away with such a result?

To come away with four wins from four is more than I ever really could hope for. We went there knowing that we couldn’t lose any more points in this championship, and have come out the other side with a big advantage. It’s amazing and really is a dream come true. It’s a really good reward for the team and their efforts.

Can you pinpoint any particular reason for this amazing run of form?

I think I really found my feet on the GSX-R at Queensland Raceway, that made a big difference. It was a trying weekend in terms of having a crash early on the Friday but to bounce back and have two strong results on what I consider to be my worst track was really a telling factor.

At that point I think I realised we had a real shot at race wins when we came to Sydney. Obviously Dunlop were also able to provide us with that tyre update, which has been good. Both myself and Robbie were competitive at Queensland but with the new tyre I feel we’ve gotten that crucial extra edge.

You’re a fan of the Sydney Motorsport Park circuit as it’s your original home track. Is it good to have it back on the calendar again after such a long absence?

To go back there is really good. Yes, I’m originally from Wollongong, so it’s my true home race. I’ve got a lot of supporters there, both family and friends, and to be able to wrap up a dominant weekend with them there is really good.

Yourself and Robbie have been very evenly-matched this year, probably best illustrated when you both dipped beneath the 1m30s mark in Friday qualifying. Is his renewed run of form spurring you on to be even more competitive?

No doubt! The first person you want to beat is your teammate, but it’s always good when you can be running in that one-two position. It’s been a while since Suzuki has had two riders that were this even and competitive. They have had a lot of riders come and go over the last 10 years and to have us both up there in terms of speed and the results we’re getting is only helping the morale. Robbie and I are getting along great and working well as a team. Our plan is to continue the Suzuki one-two domination and see out the season in this way.

Maxwell and the GSX-R had a special synergy in Sydney. Image: Andrew Gosling/TBG Sport.

You’ve been in this championship for a number of seasons and seen your share of bad luck. This weekend it was your primary championship rival, Glenn Allerton, who had a few things not go his way. Do you feel for him after being in such a situation yourself?

Absolutely. Every rider out there is putting their heart and soul into racing. They might go about it different ways at times, but they’re all chasing the same thing. Away from the track they’re putting in the work and we know how committed he is to his off-track preparation. To make that unfortunate mistake that Glenn did in the race is never nice. If I am in a position to win this championship, then I just hope I can look back at the end of the year and see that the points gap is more than what he lost in that race, and it shows I was a true championship contender and not a winner by default.

There’s two rounds left to play out and another 100 points up for grabs. Do you feel as though he’ll bounce back at Hidden Valley and Phillip Island?

Glenn is super competitive, and has been all year. He’s a racer, and he’s not going to leave anything on the table. I am expecting he’ll put up an almighty fight, which we’ll have to be ready for. We can’t underestimate what he is capable of. The last two rounds are going to be close, that’s for sure.

As we mentioned, you find yourself in the box seat in terms of the title race now. How do you approach the final two rounds, and is there anything you feel you need to work on?

I like to keep things pretty simple, just dot the i’s and cross the t’s. That’s working for us at the moment. We’ll have a debrief this week at the workshop and work out where we can improve a little bit. We’ll keep doing what we’re doing and keep enjoying racing. If a win is there I’ll take a win, but if it’s risky, we’ll see what we can come up with. What we’re doing is working so we’re not going to try to fix it if it’s not broken.

The weekend wasn’t about a single milestone or achievement for you – there were many. Was there a particular favourite moment you can identify from the event?

A fond moment was winning my first race on the GSX-R with Suzuki on the Saturday afternoon. They put a lot of faith in me and that was special. To win not only the first race for Suzuki, but also the round, I felt like I’d kind of given them something back for the lifeline they threw me when I was without a ride at the end of last year.

I’d won more races than anyone last year and for an unknown reason I was without a ride. They took a chance with me and I was super happy to reward them with that win. We’ve ticked one of the boxes now, and the next one we want to tick is the championship.