Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech and Wayne Maxwell on the podium at Queensland Raceway

Boost Mobile Racing With K-Tech rider Wayne Maxwell secured second place overall after two hard fought top three placings at round two of the 2022 ASBK Championship held at Queensland Raceway over the weekend of 18-20 February.

ASBK had not been to Queensland Raceway since 2014 and unlike a majority of the title aspirants Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech had done minimal testing at this track prior to this event. So, lining up for the two races with an important front row grid position, after initially securing a Q2 berth, was a brilliant result for the Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech Team and reigning champion Wayne Maxwell at a circuit he doesn’t list as one of his strongest. 

Race one got underway on Sunday morning in front of a healthy crowd with Wayne slotting into third place early on, right on the tail of Polesitter Mike Jones. Jones made a pass for the lead on lap three with Wayne and the Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech Ducati maintaining third position behind early leader Bryan Staring. Wayne and the Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech Ducati V4R moved into second when Staring crashed at turn six on lap ten, but with Josh Waters only a second behind Wayne continued to maintain incredibly consistent lap times. Waters ramped up the pressure and closed to within .3 on lap fourteen but Wayne was able to increase the gap over the final two laps to secure second place. Despite the lack of testing prior to this weekend the team was able to provide Wayne with an incredibly consistent package, his lap times for the entire race differing by less than one second. 

Race two saw track temperatures rise to over fifty degrees as the race got underway. Wayne got a perfect start and led the field through turn one for the first time, race one winner Mike Jones right behind. Jones made a pass for the lead on the entry to the ultra-fast turn two on the second lap while Wayne kept the Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech Ducati V4R ahead of Bryan Staring. Staring made a pass for second on lap four at turn four leaving Wayne to deal with former Moto3 rider Arthur Sissis. Despite the constant pressure Wayne, once again, was a model of consistency, his lap times only differing by .8 over the entire race distance. While Sissis was able to match Wayne’s times he was never able to attempt a pass ensuring Wayne was able to secure another race podium, strong championship points and second place overall for the round. The next round of the 2022 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship Presented by Motul is at Wakefield Park Raceway over the weekend of 22-24 April.

“For us we were always up against it this weekend, it is not a very good track for me” commented Wayne Maxwell. “On paper the result looks OK, we did loose a little bit to the championship lead because Mike had such a fantastic weekend. But we did learn a lot out of this weekend about the bike and the feeling and it is all about that, so when we come to that feeling again it is all about making the right choice, we made the wrong choice for race two with the bike. I am sorry to the team I couldn’t give them something better and they are equally sorry to me and that is what makes this such a great team that we all understand each other and appreciate each other for all the hard work they do. We are excited to come out of here with solid points and get to the next track, Wakefield Park, where we have had strong results in the past and we know the bike is good there. We will go back there with a setting we know works and we’ll make it better from there.” 

“It ended up pretty good this weekend, starting off with qualifying third” said Team Manager Craig McMartin. “With the small amount of testing we had here we were happy with that and then to get second and third in the two races on one of Wayne’s worst tracks is really good. It was important to just come out of here with a good result and move onto a track that suits Wayne a little bit better. The team did a great job this weekend so thankyou to all of them for all their hard work in getting essentially two new bikes ready with only about an hours testing."