This weekend the Moto2 teams are already well under way at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix (!). One man, though, probably has much more on his mind than just relaxing and enjoying some good racing. Australian Superbike ace Wayne Maxwell will not be competing against his usual crowd when the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix arrives at Phillip Island 15 – 17 October 2010. Maxwell will be riding a spec-Honda 600cc engine held together with a Moriwaki chassis and tuned to perfection by the Italian Matteoni Racing Team. In fact, the bike will be almost identical to the bike current Moto2 series leader Toni Elias is using.
Maxwell will not be participating in the ASBK event which runs in conjunction with the GP races as it will not be a points-earning event for that home series. And, who could pass up a chance to run against some of the world’s best riders? Not Maxwell! He was quite pleased to be lucky enough to run the same marque on which he campaigns normally and that his Moto2 machine will be wearing the same shoes too. The spec tire for the Moto2 series is the Dunlop N-Tec and that is the same rubber on which Maxwell set both the pole and race lap record at Phillip Island back in 2009.
The stars seem to have aligned for Wayne Maxwell and he is set up to have a real chance at a Moto2 podium. Whether that happens depends on many factors, but he does have excellent equipment, support from an excellent team and the experience to bring this fantasy into reality. Maxwell has a dream chance and we will all share in it come MotoGP race weekend at Phillip Island in just a week’s time.
