Maxwell speaks with Dunlop's Stewart Corser during qualifying at Phillip Island today.

Demolition Plus GAS Honda Racing’s Wayne Maxwell has secured pole position for tomorrow’s opening round of the Viking Australian Superbike Championship, his best of 1:34.120 narrowly handing him the number one position on the grid at Phillip Island in Victoria.

Maxwell’s lap came on the ninth of 10 in the second and final qualifying session this afternoon, edging out defending champion Josh Waters (Team Suzuki) and Jamie Stauffer (Ducati Motologic) – all three breaking into the 1:34 barrier.

“To be leading the championship with one point, Demolition GAS Honda, hats off to them they’ve worked tirelessly,” Maxwell said.
“The bike has been moving along a treat, we haven’t had much of an opportunity on these new tyres and to come out here and get on pole and be consistently fast all weekend – I couldn’t be happier.”

Stauffer was the pace-setter in the opening session before Maxwell eclipsed him, however it was a solid start for the former double champion in his debut on the Italian twin-cylinder 1198R.

Completing the front row for tomorrow’s pair of 12-lap ASBK races is current national Supersport champion Bryan Staring (Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing), who was the final rider in the 1:34s thanks to his time from the opening session.

Three-time champion Shawn Giles (Team Suzuki) was a solid fifth after showing good form throughout the weekend, while Shannon Johnson (KTM Superbike Team) made a superb start to his campaign on the 1190 RC8R in sixth.

Ex-champion Glenn Allerton worked through overheating troubles today to secure seventh for race day, with Racers Edge Performance Suzuki Superbike returnee Scott Charlton closing out row two.

Aluma-Lite Racing’s Ben Attard was the top Superstock 1000 A- and B-grader in ninth overall, the Queenslander ahead of Superbike rookie and Ducati Motologic factory rider Jordan Burgess, with Craig McMartin (Ducati) 10th and Kris McLaren (Honda) 12th on the grid.

Top Aprilia on the grid is The Natural TBR’s Dan Stauffer, working through electrical gremlins to qualifying 16th and rounding out row four after a frustrating weekend so far.

The big news of the day was Christan Casella’s shock victory on debut for AARK Racing Triumph in the opening Supersport race of the season, taking the lead on the final turn and scraping through ahead of Brodie Waters (Sunstate Racing Suzuki) and Troy Herfoss (Team Suzuki) – Casella and Herfoss clashing on the way to the finish line.

Pole-setter Aaron Morris (Yamaha) had a spectacular start to his Supersport career by slicing through the pack, hitting the battle for the lead and then crashing out a high-speed in Turn One.

That left Pat Medcalf (Yamaha Racing Team) out front from Herfoss, before he too crashed out with a bang at Lukey Heights while leading the race with a slight buffer.

The final lap came down to Casella, Waters and Herfoss, the trio crossing the line separated by just 0.059 at the flag. Ben Burke was a solid fourth, while Blake Leigh-Smith (Yamaha) made an impressive debut as the reigning 125GP champion in fifth.

The Superstock 600 category went to Carew Dickinson (Col’s Motorcycles Yamaha) after an action-filled final race, where race one and two winner Morris crashed and took Matthew Walters (Kawasaki) with him on the opening lap at Turn Four.

Jesse Austin (Yamaha) then lead the race before he too crashed at MG, handing the race and the overall to Dickinson.

Second overall was Mike Jones in his Superstock debut on a YRDT-supported Yamaha, while Morris’ earlier victories were enough to ensure he earned a podium in third overall despite his final race DNF.

Click here for detailed results