Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing's Bryan Staring is set to claim his maiden Superbike title.

Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing rider Bryan Staring edged closer to his goal of becoming 2010 Australian Superbike Champion with a solid points haul and second overall at the weekend’s Phillip Island event.

Round six of the championship proved pivotal, with the 23-year-old Gold Coast rider scoring a race win and a hard-fought second place across the two, 10-lap races.

Staring finished equal on points with his closest championship challenger Wayne Maxwell, who was awarded the spoils by virtue of a higher finish in race two.

The incredible streak of five consecutive race wins may have ended, but Staring, who leads the championship by 18.5, is focused on the bigger picture.

“We didn’t get too much dry track time on the Friday which made things a little tough heading into Superpole on Saturday morning,” explained Staring. “I put in a fairly safe lap to ensure I’d start from the front row and the bike came into its own during the race despite some tyre wear.

“The second race was tough, there was a group of around 6 or 7 bikes locked together for the first few laps and it was only towards the end that we were able to pull away.

“Jamie [Stauffer] made a mistake while leading on the last lap and ran wide. I was positioned to take advantage of any mistakes that he and Wayne may have made and was able to squeeze through for second. Wayne and I came away with equal points which was the second-best scenario behind being able to extend my lead.

“The team delivered an incredible bike to me this weekend and we are now well on track with one round left to run at Symmon’s Plains in a few months time.”

Bleak conditions improved across the course of the weekend, with a mixed wet session early in the piece making setup difficult.

Staring set the third-fastest time in Superpole, and battled Jamie Stauffer for much of race one before taking the win.

Locked in a six-way battle for position in race two, Staring sat tight until the mid-point before moving forwards and settling in behind the duel for first place between Stauffer and Honda rider Wayne Maxwell.

The Cougar Bourbon Honda rider pounced on a mistake from Stauffer in the dying stages to grab second in front of a huge trackside crowd on hand for the 500km V8 Supercar endurance race.

Both races were broadcast to viewers on Channel 7 who were fortunate enough to witness undoubtedly the most exciting round to date in 2010.

The championship wraps up at Tasmania’s Symmon’s Plains Circuit on 12-14 November, with Staring in the box seat to deliver Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing and its sponsors a maiden Superbike title.