Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech and Wayne Maxwell take race two victory at Hidden Valley

Boost Mobile Racing With K-Tech rider Wayne Maxwell secured victory on his Ducati Panigale V4R in race two and remains second in the 2022 ASBK Championship following a difficult round four held in conjunction with the Supercars Championship over the weekend of 17-19 June.

Darwin’s Hidden Valley Circuit packs a lot into its 2.87-kilometre length combining a long straight with some of the hardest braking zones in the championship. Wayne and the Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech Ducati V4R were able to secure a valuable championship point with a repeat of last year’s pole position, this year with 1:04.962, a new record fastest motorcycle lap of the sinuous circuit. 

Race one of the three race program got underway on Saturday afternoon with Wayne getting a good launch off the line slotting into second place after the long run to the entry of turn one. Mike Jones made a move on the exit to relegate Wayne and the Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech Ducati V4R one place on the run through turns three and four. Positions remained stagnant for a few laps before Jones went to the lead on lap six with Wayne maintaining third position until lap nine when Troy Herfoss managed to slide past relegating Wayne to fourth. At the completion of the race the heroic nature of Wayne’s ride to secure fourth was revealed, a bracket had broken that secured timing equipment causing slight damage to the Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech Ducati V4R and compromising the steering.

Sunday mornings race two of the weekend was an ASBK classic. Wayne got a bad start from pole position and was back in eighth as the field made the run out of turn one for the first time. Feeling out the conditions in the early laps Wayne was extremely confident with the grip of the Pirelli tyres and began to charge through the field on the Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech Ducati V4R gaining a position a lap to be up to fifth on lap five. On lap seven the charge escalated in pace with Wayne moving into second behind race leader Bryan Staring until he made a bid for the lead on lap eleven. Staring fought back on the next lap as positions in the lead group, covered by only .5 of a second, continually shuffled. On lap fourteen Wayne was the only rider capable of a lap in the 1:05’s and went back to the lead reeling off two more blistering 1:05’s to take the win by .249 over Mike Jones. Wayne also set a new lap record on the Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech Ducati V4R of 1:5.407 on lap five.

Track conditions for race three were the hottest of the weekend as the field got away for the final race of the round. Wayne got a better start and slotted into second on the entry to turn one behind Jones but was able to hold a much tighter line and was into the lead on the run out of the first corner. Jones was able use the slipstream to slide under Wayne on the entry to turn one on the start of lap two to take the lead Wayne holding second until he went back into the lead at the start of lap four. Both Jones and Allerton managed to squeeze through on lap five with Wayne pushing hard in the hot conditions getting Allerton back. Fending off the attention from behind whilst trying to reel in Jones Wayne unfortunately lost the front at turn six in lap seven. The high-quality Racers Edge Performance Fairings ensured there was minimal damage and Wayne was able to immediately pick up the Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech Ducati V4R and continue in the race in fourteenth position. Catching and passing several riders Wayne was able to get back to eleventh place at the flag to secure vital championship points.

Despite the crash in race three Wayne and the Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech Ducati V4R finished the weekend with fifty-three championship points, missing third place for the round on countback.

The next round of the 2022 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship Presented by Motul is at Queensland’s Morgan Park over the weekend of 5-7 August.

“This weekend was another tough one for us” commented Wayne Maxwell. “We had some issues with the bike in race one and then I made a mistake in race three. Fastest ever lap, lap record and a race win is good but as a championship round it is not really what we want. It was difficult coming into this weekend and it made it difficult for me to ride but I really appreciated the effort that everyone put in to allow us to get a result and get some points for the championship.”

“The weekend didn’t quite pan out as we hoped” said Team Manager Craig McMartin. “Getting a win after the first race’s little issue that we had was great and Wayne was pushing really hard and that third race to try to bridge the gap back to Mike. Under these difficult conditions the team worked really hard all weekend and Wayne was typical Wayne, he was just awesome. Hopefully we can give him a great bike at the next round and win some more races. I know I say it every round, but more than ever this weekend, a massive thanks to everyone in the team for all their hard work and to all our sponsors, thank you.”