Demolition Plus GAS Honda Racing's Wayne Maxwell is determined to fight for victory this weekend.

Viking Group Australian Superbike Championship front-runner, Honda’s Wayne Maxwell has identified this weekend’s Queensland Raceway round as the highest hurdle in the second half of his race for title honours.

The 27-year-old Victorian hopes to have overcome a gripe with tyre grip which saw him sliding backwards from pole position when the series last visited the 3.12-kilometre circuit in June.

The Demolition Plus GAS Honda CBR1000RR pilot left the event noting there was plenty to be done to match the pace of the riders he was battling for the points lead and has worked hard to turn around the result.

“It wasn’t our weekend, that’s for sure,” said Maxwell. “With pole position I thought I’d gotten the momentum going but we struggled with tyres during both races and ended up going backwards.”

Maxwell, winner of the opening round of 2010, also identified race fitness as a factor and felt he had made good progress from the point he was at in June.

“My training had been affected by injury and I wasn’t feeling as fit as I could have,” he said. “I’ve added running back into my program which seems to have helped quite a bit. The opportunity to race in the heat and humidity at the Suzuka 8 Hour where endurance is vital was another good way to keep focused and allowed me some good time on the bike.”

Trailing championship leader Bryan Staring by 4.5 points, Maxwell was hopeful of overturning a run of lacklustre results in the Sunshine State.

“This needs to be a good weekend, I need to perform at every round. I’m confident I can do well at both Phillip Island and Symmon’s Plains in the final two rounds but Queensland Raceway has been a sticking point in the past.

“I need to be scoring consistent points at every event we go to in order to keep the pressure on Bryan.”

Practice is set to commence on Friday, with the Superpole qualifying session on Saturday and pair of 16-lap races scheduled for Sunday.