Wayne Maxwell may have won the day and the championship in dominating fashion, but the people's champion was certainly Jack Miller, and even Wayne Maxwell agrees with that. Ducati MotoGP factory rider Jack Miller wanted to take part in the Australian Superbike Championship over the weekend at The Bend on his own – he bought his bike himself and was accompanied by his friends from Townsville – and helped make the season finale a major popular celebration.
This Sunday was eventful from the Warm Up, when Josh Hook, who was leading the session, crashed at turn two, which raised the red flag. The 2018 FIM Endurance World Champion was taken to the medical center but was declared fit for the race, he "just asked a little too much of the rear tire".
Tires have always been a source of discussion in ASBK. The last time the ASBK Championship visited The Bend was in 2019 and the tire wear here was dramatic. Bryan Staring achieved a feat on the Dunlop BCperformance-shod Kawasaki with a fantastic comeback that allowed him to win all three races. The Dunlops showed a significant advantage on the new abrasive surface, but Pirelli and Michelin are confident they have closed that gap and now have tires that will go the 11-lap race distance.
Wayne Maxwell's single-lap pace has been breathtaking all weekend, but over the 11-lap race distance, tire longevity will decide the pace over the final laps. For this, the race settings are a compromise between fast pace and a compromise for tire wear.
The start of the first Alpinestars Superbike race is given. Jack Miller had been a little nervous at the start, he who is used to having MotoGP level traction control and played with the clutch on several occasions, which saw him pushed back to seventh place. At the front, Wayne Maxwell led the race, Arthur Sissis in second place until Oli Bayliss overtook him a few corners later to take second place. Daniel Falzon fell early much to the disappointment of the home crowd. Josh Hook returned to the pits due to a technical problem.
Jack Miller came up the inside of Arthur Sissis to take third place on the brakes as they began the second lap. Wayne Maxwell had increased his lead to a full second. On this second lap, Oli Bayliss made a small error which allowed Jack Miller and Arthur Sissis to overtake the young driver and push him back to fourth place.
At the front, Wayne Maxwell broke the race lap record to extend his advantage over Jack Miller to 1,2 seconds, who still had Arthur Sissis on his heels. Glenn Allerton was fourth but more than six seconds behind the race leader.
Halfway through the race, Wayne Maxwell then improved his lead to two seconds. This second half of the race could see things shake up as the tires start to deteriorate. Jack Miller was clearly struggling with his Ducati for grip. Arthur Sissis was always right with him and was six seconds ahead of fourth-placed Glenn Allerton. A red flag was waved after Evan Byles crashed on lap seven, suffering but conscious.
What followed was a sprint race of 3 short laps, during which Wayne Maxwell got the best start, but Jack Miller managed his clutch better and was the bravest on the brakes in the first corner to take the lead . Unfortunately for him, his Michelin rear tire was destroyed and he was unable to take off. Aiden Wagner wanted to pass him on the inside, Jack Miller gave him space but Aiden Wagner made them both fall.
Wayne Maxwell wins the first race and is crowned 2021 ASBK Champion, ahead of Glenn Allerton and Cru Hallyday.
Now it's time for the second round, which takes place in the afternoon. A bad start for Jack Miller once again, but not as bad as Josh Hook and Arthur Sissis as they both crashed at the first corner. Then there was an impressive crash at turn three involving Daniel Falzon, Chandler Cooper and other drivers. Daniel Falzon fractured his leg, which Chandler Cooper didn't remember from the incident after hitting his head. They are hot in Australia!
Those who stayed on their wheels returned to the grid for a fresh start after the red flag. It took some time for the damaged motorcycles, one of which was on fire, to be recovered and the riders therefore returned to the grid for a while.
Wayne Maxwell again made an excellent start from pole position, but Oli Bayliss dove inside at the first corner to take the lead, with Glenn Allerton clocking in third. Jack Miller again got off to a chaotic start but quickly moved up to fourth place ahead of Cru Halliday and Lachlan Epis.
Oli Bayliss went wide at turn 13 and was relegated to third position. Jack Miller then passed Oli Bayliss under braking to take that third position, the MotoGP star not being very good on the line without the launch control of his Desmosedici, but having no problems at all under braking.
Glenn Allerton was leading the battle against Wayne Maxwell in this one over the first two laps while Jack Miller started to get back on it, with his stock Panigale V4R, unlike his competitors.
The recent ASBK champion then set a new lap record of 1'50.972, faster than anyone would have expected on a racing tire around here, to extend his lead over Glenn Allerton to seven tenths. Jack Miller followed another half a second behind, Oli Bayliss was fourth while Cru Halliday was fifth, but confident his Dunlops would survive against the Pirelli and Michelin ahead of him.
With 2 laps to go, Wayne Maxwell is now three seconds ahead of Glenn Allerton while Cru Halliday had really started to move up on Jack Miller, this gap being reduced to one second.
By the last lap, Cru Halliday had reduced the gap to Jack Miller to eight tenths. During the second half of the final lap, Cru Halliday had Miller in his sights and was getting closer and closer with each turn, but Jack Miller held on for a podium finish to the delight of the crowd. Wayne Maxwell won the race ahead of Glenn Allerton, who finished second in the Championship.
Jack Miller seemed to enjoy his weekend, greeting the crowd with magnificent wheelies on the deceleration lap after giving his gloves to a track marshal, followed by a burnout in the pit lane. His presence here this weekend made ASBK more popular in the eyes of the world. His generosity is impressive.
Rankings for the Alpinestars Superbike Warm Up session at The Bend:
Standings for Race 1 of the Alpinestars Superbike at The Bend:
Standings for Race 2 of the Alpinestars Superbike at The Bend:
Credit classification & photos: ASBK
