Herfoss wins ASBK opener

Troy Herfoss (Team Honda Racing) has claimed opening round honours in the Superbike class at the 2015 ASBK Championship held at Phillip Island today.

Herfoss claimed a second place and a race win from the two races on offer to finish ahead of teammate Josh Hook (first and second) with Mike Jones (Cube Racing Team) finishing the day in third (third and third).

Race 1

The opening race of the day on Sunday was the rescheduled first Australian Superbike race, and with an 8:25am start, riders were greeted with much cooler conditions than on Saturday.

Jamie Stauffer’s injury from Saturday meant there was no-one ahead of Herfoss on the grid, and the Team Honda rider took full advantage by coming off the line into the lead.

Hook tucked in behind Herfoss into second, with Linden Magee (LMR BMW), Daniel Falzon (JD Racing), and Jones settling into top-five positions.

After the opening lap, the top three riders of Herfoss, Hook and Magee had put nearly a second gap to Falzon, and on lap two he was overtaken by Jones into fourth spot.

Hook came round the final corner on the second lap and moved into first place ahead of Herfoss, while Magee managed to put more space between himself and Jones.

The Honda duo settled into a nice race rhythm – the pair within touching distance of each other for much of the race, and it was Hook who spent most of the race in front.

The pair soon pushed clear of the chasing riders, with Magee comfortably holding on to third with a measured ride – but he was still almost five seconds behind Herfoss with two laps to go.

Behind Magee, Jones was working hard to edge his way into third – sitting comfortably in fourth with a four-second gap to Falzon.

But all eyes were on the front pair, and while Herfoss desperately tried to get past Hook heading down the straight and to the finishing line, the younger Honda rider held on to edge out his teammate by 0.099 of a second.

It was a thrilling finish, with another enthralling battle for third, which saw Jones pip Magee on the line to take the final podium spot by nine-hundredths of a second.

Falzon finished the race in third.

Race 2

Race two of the Australian Superbikes was the last event on the daily schedule, and this time riders took to the track in warm and muggy conditions.

Herfoss got a great start off the line to keep hold of first place from Hook and Magee, before Magee moved past the race-one winner and into second on the second corner.

Falzon and Jones rounded out the top five as they settled in through the opening lap, with the pair switching places a number of times.

Not much changed amongst the top group through two laps, and as they completed the second lap of the race the top-four were separated by less than a second.

Jones worked his way ahead of Falzon into fourth, and at the end of lap three, moved up into third place with a nice pass on Magee.

That was short-lived as the BMW rider moved back into third two turns later, at which point Herfoss and Hook had stretched the gap at the front of the field.

At the halfway point of the 12-lap race, Hook made his move when he passed Herfoss coming down the straight and into turn one.

Falzon lost control of his bike on lap seven as he crashed on turn four, but luckily he got up pretty quickly rejoining the race in 11th spot.

That moved Sloan Frost (NextGen Motorsports) up into fifth as the battle between the Honda pair continued up front.

The duo had put a two-second gap on Jones who was now nearly four seconds clear of Magee in fourth, with Frost a further six seconds behind in fifth.

Hook was doing all he could to keep the persistent Herfoss at bay, but he surrendered his lead early on lap ten, and was never able to get it back.

It all came down to the final straight where Hook tried in vain to get past, but the experience of Herfoss saw him cut across the straight and not allow Hook even a sniff of victory.

Jones finished the race in third place, with Magee comfortably back in fourth and Frost holding on to fifth spot.

The second round of the 2015 ASBK Championship heads to Morgan Park Raceway in Queensland from 10-12 April.

More, from another press release issued by Motorcycling Australia:

What they said – Superbikes

We spoke to the top three riders in the Moto 3 / 125GP category at the opening round of the 2015 ASBK Championship, and here is what they had to say about their weekends.

Troy Herfoss – 1st Overall (2nd and 1st)

“The conditions were really bad. They obviously look great with the sun shining on Phillip Island and the spectators are getting their moneys worth, but the track gets so greasy out there when it gets hot like that.

“We were going a lot slower than what we were earlier. I actually thought when Josh got in front of me mid-race that the race was over, but I realised quickly that he was struggling just like I was.

“It was sort of like a checkmate really; we couldn’t go faster and we were just sort of holding each other up, so I decided the best thing was to fight for every corner.

“He (Hook) made me fight for it and I am just glad I held him off the line.

“Big thanks to Team Honda, Pirelli and everyone who has put a big effort in. There are so many guys that I need to thank so I need to start doing some memorising of the lists but it goes on and on.

“Also a quick one to Jamie – hopefully he is better soon.”

Josh Hook – 2nd Overall (1st and 2nd)

“It was a bit of a pain to be honest. I sat back on that last lap knowing that I could get a good run on Troy (Herfoss) and pass him before the line so that was a bit disappointing.

“I was a bit upset with myself that I didn’t peel right instead of left but that’s the way it is. He came across and I got boxed in towards the pit wall, but overall it’s not a bad weekend for us to get first and second considering we were off the pace coming into this weekend.

“It was good experience and good for my confidence, and it is a pleasure to come back and ride just for this round and I’m so proud at how the weekend went.”

Mike Jones – 3rd Overall (3rd and 3rd)

“That was tough the second race of the day; bumped up to 12 laps from the eight laps that we had this morning and my wrist was already sore from the previous day’s activities with practice and qualifying.

“To get out there and race again this morning, I’m absolutely destroyed.

“I was over-compensating with the rest of my body to try not to put input into the handlebar with my right hand so I was just completely worn out in the race.

“I’d like to say a big thanks to the Australian Outdoor Living Cube Racing Team for their assistance this early on in the year to get us on the podium is fantastic. Just a big thanks to the team sponsors and my personal sponsors as well.

“It was a tough battle out there. Obviously I wasn’t with the front two guys but it was a good battle there with Lyndon (Magee) throughout the race.

“I had to get past Daniel (Falzon) initially on that first lap as he started ahead of me, so to be able to get past him and get past Lyndon and make a gap and not lose too much through the middle of the race on the front-runners, I think it was a pretty good effort. To get third place in the first race is just fantastic so I’m very happy.

“Morgan Park is my home track and at this stage we’ll be doing our best to get there and being a home circuit, I’d certainly have an advantage there. So I’d like to be able to get there and race these guys because I think I have a good strong competitive advantage against them there.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Honda Racing:

Troy Herfoss Takes Victory at World Superbike Event

23rd February 2015 – Success for Team Honda Racing at the World Superbike Event over the weekend as #17 Troy Herfoss took overall honours in the Superbike support category on equal points with team mate #16 Josh Hook. It was a race apiece for the Honda duo and no lack of thrilling battles for spectators at the Phillip Island Circuit.

Unfortunately, it was not all podiums and smiles for Team Honda Racing with #27 Jamie Stauffer coming off in a nasty crash in Race 1 on Saturday, breaking his pelvis. Stauffer had in fact begun the event on top, taking Pole position on the grid and looking strong for battle the following day. The team is in close contact with Jamie and his family as he awaits surgery for his injury.

Due to Race 1 on Saturday being red flagged twice for crashes, including Stauffer’s crash, officials made the decision to run an 8 lap Race 1 in Sunday’s schedule.

Herfoss started both races from P2 on the grid; a solitary figure on the front row with both Stauffer and Condon injured and unable to race. With Herfoss in P2 and Hook in P4 on the grid, Team Honda Racing remained in a strong position to take the race win.

Race 1 saw both Honda CBR1000RR SPs get a good start off the line with Herfoss taking the lead. The pair battled hard in the early stages of the race and by mid-race Hook had the lead and no intention of relinquishing it. Hook took the Race 1 win with the fastest lap of the race, a 1:33.170 sec just .99 sec ahead of Herfoss whose fastest lap of Race 1 was a 1:33.286 sec.

Race 2 was even more exciting with the Team Honda Racing riders out in front once more. It was Herfoss leading the field and appearing very comfortable onboard his Honda, but Hook had other ideas and the two put on a thrilling display as they pulled out all the stops to take the win. It was Herfoss in the lead on the final lap with Hook right on his tail. Hook inevitably pulled out from the slipstream down the straight and it was down to the wire. Herfoss looked to box Hook at the pit wall as he headed for the checkered flag and the bold move worked. In a photo finish it was Herfoss over the line first by just .018 sec ahead of Hook who still recorded the fastest lap of the race, 1:33.876 sec.

Herfoss was all smiles on the podium, taking overall honours, “I finished the weekend off really happy with my results. The conditions for Race 2 were really difficult so both Josh and I struggled for lap times and found it hard to maintain a lead in the race. I’m really happy to get my first win on a Superbike at Phillip Island and leave here with the championship lead as well as being able to showcase the CBR1000RR SP. It was really disappointing to lose Jamie to injury. He is an extremely tough guy so I know he will recover well. A massive thanks to Team Honda Racing and Bell helmets, also to Pirelli for providing a tyre that has worked in both cool and difficult hot conditions. Thanks to everyone involved, it was a great weekend for Team Honda Racing.”

Hook was pleased with his weekend back onboard the CBR1000RR SP for the team before heading to Japan to compete in the Japanese Superbike Championship, “All in all it was a very positive weekend for us with a 1st in the first race and a 2nd in Race 2. I would like to say a massive thanks to Team Honda Racing for bringing me onboard for this round. The team has been working very hard in testing to get the bike just right and I was struggling a bit to keep up with my team mates early on, but in the races we seemed to be setting the pace so it was good to see the hard work pay off. That second race was a tough one and well done to Troy on the win. I am really stoked to come away with the result I did so a huge thank you to everyone involved. Overall it was a great weekend.”

Team Principal Paul Free was of course very pleased with his riders’ results, “The team did a fantastic job this weekend and the racing was really exciting. It was difficult to see Jamie go down so hard on Saturday and his injury will take some time to heal. We are in contact with Jamie and Emma and just have to support them as Jamie recovers. The racing continued of course and Troy and Josh excelled themselves in the 2 races on Sunday. Well done to both riders on a fantastic effort. The conditions were fairly ordinary with the heat in the track, but they handled it well and to get 1-2 in both races is great. Well done to Troy on the overall win and to Josh, we wish him all the best as he heads to Japan to begin testing for the FCC TSR Honda Team. I would like to thank our team partners for their support, particularly Honda Australia, Motul and Pirelli. The product supplied by Pirelli and their level of support was first class.”