Image: Foremost Media.

Current Australian Superbike champion Wayne Maxwell will return with McMartin Racing for 2022, opting out of his decision to retire as he seeks further refinements in a bid for a fourth crown.

Maxwell had previously indicated that the 2021 season would be his last, however, with the past two years impacted by covid-19, the number of rounds contested were limited.

The now triple ASBK champion enters the upcoming championship with the opportunity to win a record fourth ASBK title, and looks to strengthen an already strong Ducati package with McMartin Racing.

“This year I’m going to remain at McMartin Racing with the current team we have,” Maxwell explained to CycleOnline. “It’s been a successful program for the last two years, I know their commitment and where I’m at in life – it suits me, for sure.

“I think it’s just building on what we have already have, there’s stuff that inside the team, it might not look like it from the outside, but inside the team we don’t do perfect or closer to perfect, we can improve some stuff.

“Our plan is to try and polish everything a little bit and to improve it, the races have been so close, the ones we’ve lost sort of thing… If we can improve by like half a tenth a lap, it’s sort of enough nearly to win you the race.

“We’ve got a pretty good base setting and package, when you turn up with a good base setting and package like that we can work on the durability.

“Pirelli are working hard in the background to ensure that we have got some updated tyres. Hopefully, we can step it up again like we have the last two years.”

Maxwell will join many other top riders and teams testing this week at Phillip Island ahead of the ASBK season-opener at the Victorian circuit on 25-27 February.