Team Suzuki ECSTAR Australia's Wayne Maxwell claimed the overall victory at the fifth round of the 2019 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) held at Winton Raceway.
After qualifying in P2 on Saturday, Maxwell got off to a great start in Race One, quickly setting a new race lap record with a 1m20.221 on lap two aboard his Phil Tainton Racing tuned GSX-R1000, whilst chasing race leader, Mike Jones.
Maxwell and Jones exchanged the lead several times, Maxwell proving to have the advantage on board his Suzuki through Winton's esses was able to execute the final pass on Jones for the lead. By the time the chequered flag waved, Maxwell had extended the margin to over 1.5 seconds to claim the victory.
Race Two saw considerably cooler track temperatures and dark clouds forming as the premier class took to the track for the final time. A series of unfortunate incidents in turn two would see the race re-started twice. By this time the race had been declared wet, however majority of the field elected to remain on slick tyres for the reduced 10-lap bout.
Once again it was Maxwell and Jones battling for the lead, later joined by Troy Herfoss in a three rider contest as the weather conditions worsened. Race Control declared the race prematurely, taking the positions from the previous lap and awarding only half points for the race.
Maxwell, with his 1-2 finish would claim the overall victory for the round, his second for the season.
It was another weekend of consistent results for teammates Josh Waters and Alex Phillis. Waters recording a pair of top five finishes for fourth overall and Phillis finishing in ninth overall with ninth and eleventh place finishes in Race One and Race Two respectively.
Team Suzuki ECSTAR Australia currently hold down three top-10 spots in the rider points standings, whilst concurrently leading the manufacturer's standings as the series heads to Phillip Island in October.
Australian Superbike Championship – Rd 5 Overall
1) Wayne Maxwell 35 SUZUKI
2) Mike Jones 33.5
3) Troy Herfoss 27
4) Josh Waters 24 SUZUKI
5) Cru Halliday 23
6) Bryan Staring 22.5
7) Arthur Sissis 18.5 SUZUKI
8) Matt Walters 18.5
9) Alex Phillis 17 SUZUKI
10) Damon Rees 16.5
Australian Superbike Championship – Championship Points
1) Mike Jones 217.5
2) Cru Halliday 206
3) Bryan Staring 198.5
4) Troy Herfoss 196
5) Wayne Maxwell 193 SUZUKI
6) Josh Waters 181 SUZUKI
7) Matt Walters 130.5
8) Daniel Falzon 124
9) Alex Phillis 110 SUZUKI
10) Arthur Sissis 106.5 SUZUKI
Superbike Championship – Manufacturer Points
1) Suzuki 685.5
2) Kawasaki 570
3) Yamaha 416
4) Honda 383.5
5) Ducati 171.5
6) BMW 139
7) Aprilia 20