News 24 Oct 2013

MotoGP support race victory an important one for Maxwell

Australian Superbike Champion Wayne Maxwell claimed another victory last weekend alongside the Tissot Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, winning two of the three national Superbike support races to win the round for Team Suzuki.

Wayne Maxwell on his way to victory at Phillip Island.

Wayne Maxwell on his way to victory at Phillip Island.

Australian Superbike Champion Wayne Maxwell claimed another victory last weekend alongside the Tissot Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, winning two of the three national Superbike support races to win the round for Team Suzuki.

Just a fortnight after sealing his first ASBK crown aboard the GSX-R1000, Maxwell qualified second on the grid and raced to that same position in Friday’s opening eight-lap affair – crossing the line just 0.044s behind Glenn Allerton.

Race two on Saturday morning saw Maxwell inch to victory, before he repeated the feat on Sunday morning to secure the overall on the biggest stage of the season.

“To cap off the year with another win is a great result for Suzuki in such an important event,” Maxwell commented.

“It was a difficult weekend with the track conditions tough, but full credit to Team Suzuki and Dunlop for supplying me with a perfect bike and tyre combination to get the job done.”

Team Volvo Group Suzuki’s Robbie Bugden was fourth overall with 3-5-4 finishes across the weekend, narrowly missing a podium position by just one point on Sunday.

“All in all it was a positive weekend, besides the mixed results,” five-time New Zealand Superbike Champion Bugden reflected. “I made a few mistakes, which cost me overall, but it was great racing and we were in the mix pretty much every race.

“The Suzuki worked really well and my Dunlop tyres did the job in all conditions. It capped off what has been a great year.”

The grand prix weekend concludes one of the most successful seasons in history for Team Suzuki, winning back-to-back ASBK titles with Maxwell and having Bugden finish third. Both riders finished on the podium at all seven rounds of the series.

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