Herfoss Not Settling at Morgan Park

Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda Racing, Honda CBR1000SP) isn’t looking to settle and consolidate his 29.5 points lead, as the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK) heads to Morgan Park Raceway for Round 5. The YMI Superbike Championship leader is looking to be aggressive at one of his favourite tracks this weekend.

Herfoss caught up with ASBK just before heading off to Morgan Park Raceway to discuss his season to date and who he thinks his competition is heading into the final three rounds of the season.

Five wins in this season already. What has been the key to making the CBR a much more competitive package in 2018?

It’s a bit of a tough one to answer, with us being a new team, it could have been a good thing or a bad thing. Luckily for us at this point, its looking like a good thing. One thing we can say is that everyone in the team is motivated for success, Deon and Sean haven’t left a stone unturned this season with testing. We have also been fortunate that Honda have provided us with great upgrades with ECU. The bike has also had a year under its belt and now we are starting to get on top of things. For me this is exciting, as I can focus on challenging for victories week in week out.

As the Championship leader, do you need to alter your approach for the remainder of the season?

There definitely comes a point where you have to think about changing your approach, but we aren’t there as of yet. There are seven rounds in total and with three rounds to go, we have just passed over the halfway point. I have got this points lead in the first half of the year, but I could just as easily lose this lead. For me it’s all about attacking the races and achieving race wins to keep our momentum going.

Do you feel more pressure leading the Championship?

If anything, it feels like less pressure compared to the start of the season, as we have a race in hand. The gap gives me the chance to take a few more risks than I could if I didn’t have the points lead. We now move onto a few tracks that I really enjoy, and the bike is working well. I honestly think it takes a bit of pressure off having that race up our sleeve.

Back in 2016 you were dominant at Morgan Park Raceway; do you treat this as a second home race for you now?

I do, as its close to me now since I moved up to the Gold Coast and its just a really fun track. It has a great atmosphere and the track has a lot of character which I really enjoy. I don’t necessarily suit the big fast tracks such as Phillip Island as much. I enjoy the character of Morgan Park and its really physical. You have to pin point your line choices, otherwise any little mistake can cost you.

You’re one of the fittest riders on the grid with your cycling, does this give you a massive advantage over the others?

There is no doubt that at a track like Morgan Park you have to be really fit, the training I’ve been doing and then also on top of that, I was lucky enough to spend a month in Japan racing in the 8-Hour. My bike fitness is really good at the moment, and we showed that at the two-day test where I was able to do a few long runs and it didn’t hurt the body to much. I wouldn’t want to go into the last five laps at Morgan Park and not be in great shape as it is a physically demanding track.

Finished seventh at the Suzuka 8 Hours, were you wrapped with that result?

We were happy with that result as a team, the goal going in was to finish in the top 10 and we were dreaming of a top five. The top five was doable for us but we had a few issues with the safety car and a small fuel issue. I was really happy with my three stints on the bike, I minimised any mistakes and felt I did a good job. It was my first 8-Hour and it’s just such an exciting race and to get a clean run and take a top ten is a great achievement. I really want to go back next year and have another go at it.

Who do you see as the contenders for the rest of the season? Who are your main rivals you think?

At the moment its looking like Troy Bayliss (Desmosport Ducati, 1299 FE) is the main guy, he is riding fast. From what I’m hearing from Morgan park is that he is my main threat and coming off his win and pole at Darwin, I think he definitely has his head down and bum up. In saying that you can’t discount Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1M), Josh Waters (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, GSX-RR) and any of those guys. You really can’t overlook anyone but as far as the points go its Maxwell and to add he did take a win from seventh on the grid. Coming off recent form I think Bayliss is the form rider and it will be a good battle.