TWOTHREE PR/WAYNE MAXWELL RACING:

Victorian-based Superbike star Wayne Maxwell will have the fight of his life on his hands when he enters the final round of the 2009 Australian Superbike Championship at the Phillip Island Circuit this weekend, 27-29 November.

Maxwell goes into the round sitting in third position in the season point standings, just nine points in arrears of series leader and Oleon Motologic Racing teammate Glenn Allerton, with Suzuki rider Josh Waters currently placed second.

The 26-year-old enters the weekend as the in-form rider of the seven round series after recently taking victory in the Mallala round in South Australia, the Australian Superbike Open at Phillip Island, and also the penultimate round of the ASBK series that was held alongside the MotoGP World Championship round last month.

It will be a tight weekend of ASBK action when the trio go head-to-head for one last time in 2009, this time with a winner takes all scenario being the ultimate reward if Maxwell manages to win Sunday’s pair of 12-lap premier Superbike races.

The weekend marks the seventh round of what has been a nail-biting finish to this year’s championship, with the world class 4.445-kilometre Phillip Island proving the perfect close to a magnificent season so far for Maxwell.

Maxwelll will take to the track on his Honda Fireblade CBR1000RR for the first time on Friday morning, with qualifying action set to decide the first point of the weekend during Saturday’s proceedings, and then the championship-deciding races on Sunday.

Wayne Maxwell – Superbike #47
I believe that it’s possible to win both races this weekend and I’ve had good momentum in the second half of the season so far. The bike is at its best and I couldn’t be happier with the job that the team has been doing, so I guess if things go our way then it will determine the exact outcome of the championship on Sunday afternoon. We had a test at a public ride day last week and we definitely made improvements – I was happy with my lap times considering the conditions. I’m going into this weekend confident, so we’ll just have to wait and see. There’s a chance of rain over the weekend, but we’ve had two wet races so far this year and I’ve won one of them. I’ve never really struggled in the rain, so either way I think that it will be the same three guys battling for the win and I’m looking forward to trying to get the job done.