The Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK) is ready to ignite Darwin this weekend at Hidden Valley Raceway! The track itself is always one of the rider’s favorites on the calendar and the racing should be exhilarating. Here is what to look out for at the ‘Top End’. ASBK is also pleased to announce the arrival of the Round 4 Program which can be viewed at asbk.com.au.

ASBK live coverage has gone to the next level in 2018 with arguably the best racing in Australia and its set to be broadcast right to fan’s screens on Sunday for those who can’t make it to the race track. Don’t forget to tune-in to channel SBS at 1:00 PM AEST and Fox Sports at 12:30 PM AEST. Hardcore fans can tune in all day with ASBK Livestream on the website.

Hidden Valley Raceway is one of the fastest tracks in the country with a 1.1 kilometer straight that often encourages close racing. With significant slipstreaming opportunities, this often closes up the pack. The track has 14 turns and the race lap record belongs to Josh Waters (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, GSX-R1000R).

Speaking of Waters, he’s absolutely dominant at this track with two wins there last year. The only blemish on his perfect weekend there was missing out on pole position to Daniel Falzon (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1). A return to Darwin might be just what Waters needs to turn his title defense around, 42 points behind leader Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda, CBR1000SP).

There are plenty of contenders that are still in with a shot of the title, expect riders such as Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1), Falzon, Waters, Troy Bayliss (Desmosport Ducati, 1299 Panigale FE) and Bryan Staring (Kawasaki BCperformance) to contend up front with the Championship leader. Perhaps Glenn Allerton (NextGen Motorsports, BMW S1000RR) can make a play for the podium, after an injury affected first half of the season.

The Kawasaki Supersport class appears to be heading towards another great battle between Tom Toparis (Cube Racing, ZX-6R) and Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R6). Young Tom Bramich (YRT, YZF-R3) continues to impress in the Australian Supersport 300 class with the championship lead.

Another interesting story will be the return of Glenn Scott (GSR Kawasaki, ZX-10R) from overseas competition. The former World Supersport rider had to sit out the first half of this year’s season due to a medical procedure. Scott put in some great performances as a privateer in the past, so it will be interesting to see how he fairs. Lachlan Epis (ResponseRE, Kawasaki ZX-10R) will also make his return to the championship, contesting in two classes.

The Darwin heat is always a hot topic at this track with many of the riders coming from cold conditions during the Australian winter. Riders have been training hard during the mid-season break to be in peak condition for this race in which athletes rise to the fore. It’s not uncommon to see riders in ice baths during this race meet.

From the Dave McKenna Yamaha MT-09 Stunt Show, the ASBK Trade Alley, the massive race trucks, and the bLU cRU Mini Moto Experience which is free for kids to try, it will be a weekend to remember!

ASBK is pleased to announce the arrival of the digitalised Official ASBK Round 4 Program.

The program can be found on the website ASBK.COM.AU.

Public access to the digital ASBK Program will feature many interesting and informative sections including; rider entry lists, race schedules, previous round wrap ups, championship points standings, track information, biographies, getting started in racing information, partnership information, race pictures and so much more.

Grab your tickets for Round 4 here and if you can’t make it to Darwin, don’t forget you can catch all the action live on SBS, Fox Sports and via the ASBK livestream at asbk.com.au and on ASBK’s Facebook.

2018 ASBK Calendar

Round 4- Hidden Valley Raceway, Darwin NT June 29 – 1 July

Round 5- Morgan Park Raceway, Warwick QLD August 17 – 19

Round 6- Winton Motor Raceway, Benalla, VIC September 7 – 9

Round 7- Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC October 12 – 14

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To stay up to date with everything ASBK, head to www.asbk.com.au, like ASBK on Facebook, or follow on Instagram via ‘ASBK’.

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

PENRITE HONDA RACING AND HERFOSS HEAD TO THE TOP END

The 2018 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) resumes this weekend, 28 June-1 July at Hidden Valley Raceway in the Northern Territory, with Penrite Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss standing atop the points table entering round four of the season.

Following a lengthy mid-season break, 31-year-old Herfoss returns to Darwin aboard the race-winning CBR1000RR Fireblade, aiming to extend his advantage after charging to victory last time out in South Australia. That win has him 19.5 points ahead of his closest rival entering the Top End.

It’s been a busy period for the Gold Coast-based Herfoss, joining Penrite Honda Racing in a private test at Hidden Valley recently and then jetting off to Japan to test with the Honda Asia Dream Racing team at the famed Suzuka Circuit. As a result, he’s eager to make the most of his recent mileage when practice commences on Thursday afternoon.

“Everything is going really well and the test that we did here was a positive one,” commented Herfoss. “Although the track was pretty green, we got some good laps in and went faster than last year at the race. The bike’s feeling good, the team has been working hard and we feel as though we have a good direction for the start of the weekend, so hopefully we can hit the ground running.

“It will be a good weekend, it’s definitely a good track to go to and we’re going to enjoy the four days in Darwin. This round is especially important because a few guys are known to be really strong here, but I just want to go out and do my best to make sure we put a stamp on our championship lead.

“The test in Japan at Suzuka was an audition for the 8-hour that was organised by Honda Australia. I did a three-day test with the Honda Asia Dream Racing team and it all went well. I’ll be going back right after Darwin to do another test, so it looks like I’ll be ready to go for the race next month.”

Penrite Honda Racing team manager Shaun Clarke said the recent test was a positive one for Herfoss, enabling them to compare the current package with that debuted in Darwin last season. Despite less than ideal track conditions, Herfoss was able to lodge a series of fast laps that will set him up strongly for the round.

“We’re confident heading into this round following the test, even if the track was very dirty across the two days,” Clarke said. “Troy was consistently within a couple of tenths of the lap record and the track should be in a much better state following the recent Supercars round, so the lap times could be considerably faster this weekend.

“It was really good to come back to Hidden Valley, because this was our first round with the current bike last year and we have made a lot of progress since then. The bike is chalk and cheese compared to that point, so the lap times have improved and we are looking forward to going racing now.”

A single 55-minute Superbike practice session will take place on Thursday afternoon, before official practice begins on Friday with a trio of 30-minute sessions. Saturday will see two 30-minute qualifying sessions on track to determine the starting grid, followed by the pair of 18-lap Superbike races to be contested on race-day Sunday.

Catch all the action via Livestream at www.asbk.com.au throughout Sunday, with live television to be aired on SBS and Fox Sports that afternoon. Follow Team Honda Racing on Facebook, as well as @teamhondaracing on Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.