News 18 Dec 2014

Maxwell makes Yamaha debut in Queensland shakedown

Australasian Superbike Champion comments on 2015 YZF-R1M.

Image: Kirk Bentley.

Image: Kirk Bentley.

Reigning Australasian Superbike Champion Wayne Maxwell made his debut aboard the Yamaha Racing Team (YRT) YZF-R1M at Queensland Raceway on Wednesday, marking the first official Australian laps of the all-new 2015 model.

Maxwell was the lone rider of Yamaha’s three 2015 signings to turn laps during the low-key test, completing a preliminary evaluation on the R1M in street trim.

“The new bike was great and the test was about the team really getting to know about the 2015 R1,” Maxwell told CycleOnline. “It’s got such advanced technology that it was important, plus for me to get to know the team and give it a shakedown.

“The bike was fully standard and where we wanted to start for a benchmark, but it was amazing from the get-go. The bike was really, really good out of the box – powerful and light. The first time I saw the bike was yesterday morning, but as soon as I went out of pit lane I fell in love with it. It gave me a lot of confidence and is hopefully the start of good things to come.”

Just weeks after it was confirmed Maxwell has departed Team Honda Racing for next season to join Glenn Allerton and Cru Halliday at YRT, the team is already carrying out initial development on the 2015 model.

Further testing of the 2015 YZF-R1M is scheduled to take place by YRT early in the new year – the team’s race debut due for February’s Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) opener alongside the World Superbikes at Phillip Island.

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