Double Win for Herfoss in Penultimate Superbike Round
Troy Herfoss has clean-swept the penultimate round of the Kawasaki Superbikes at the grand finale of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul, at Wakefield Park, winning both today’s 18 lap races.
On his Penrite Honda, Herfoss was engaged in combat with championship leader Wayne Maxwell (Ducati) in the early stages of Race 1, the two riders swapping positions several times before Herfoss stamped his authority during the second half of the race.
“Usually I’d be so stoked with a win, but at the moment it’s not good enough for me to win the championship if Wayne keeps coming second,” Herfoss said.
Maxwell kept Herfoss honest for the duration of the race, crossing the line 0.7s behind his rival.
“I knew if Troy got clear air, he would be super-consistent, so when he passed me I tried to fight back straight away,” Maxwell said.
“I probably could have fought back again, but he was too strong.
Glenn Allerton finished third, the three-time champion making a welcome return to the podium aboard his BMW.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve actually raced these guys; it was good to get in behind them and see what their strengths and weaknesses were,” Allerton said.
“Throughout the break, we’ve worked hard to be in this position where we can fight for race wins.”
Bryan Staring finished fourth in Race 1 ahead of Cru Halliday, who ran wide early in the race while attempting a pass on Staring at Turn 8. Aiden Wagner was sixth ahead of Mike Jones, while Josh Waters fell to eighth with brake issues; Arther Sissis and Jed Metcher completed the top 10.
Herfoss again won Race 2, but swapped positions with Maxwell on several occasions. The defining moment occurred when Maxwell attempted a move for the lead into Turn 2, but ran wide on the exit and lost several bike-lengths to Herfoss.
“That was a really difficult race – Wayne had a lot of speed and we couldn’t break him, he’s always such a tough competitor,” Herfoss said.
“It’s back to the drawing board tomorrow but all I can do is finish at the front and keep the pressure on.
Allerton again finished third, keeping the Yamaha of Cru Halliday at bay for the entire race, while Mike Jones, Aiden Wagner, Josh Waters, Arthur Sissis and Bryan Staring rounded out the top 10, Staring losing some places late in the race with an off-track excursion at the final corner.
Heading into tomorrow’s final two races of the 2020 season, Maxwell holds an advantage of 17 points over Herfoss, with a total of 51 points on offer.
Australian Superbike Championship Top 10 Points
1. Wayne Maxwell – 116
2. Troy Herfoss – 99
3. Cru Halliday – 93
4. Josh Waters – 78
5. Bryan Staring – 78
6. Glenn Allerton – 67
7. Mike Jones – 65
8. Arthur Sissis – 62
9. Jed Metcher – 54
10. Aiden Wagner – 52
Keep up to date with the latest news on the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul, via www.asbk.com.au and following ASBK on Facebook and Instagram.
More, from another press release issued by Motorcycling Australia:
Thompson, Khouri Share YMI Supersport 300 Wins
Carter Thompson and Harry Khouri each achieved victories in today’s YMI Supersport 300 races, held as part of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK), presented by Motul, grand finale at Wakefield Park.
In Race 2, a freight-train of six bikes battled for the lead throughout the race, swapping positions on multiple occasions. The race was decided in the last corner of the last lap when Khouri made a move on Thompson for the lead, Ben Baker also capitalising to relegate Thompson to third. Archie McDonald, John Lytras and Luke Power followed and only 0.8s separated the top six riders at the finish line.
“I have to give credit to Carter and Ben, they pushed me hard the whole race and they’re doing an awesome job,” Khouri said.
Thompson was able to pull out a more comfortable margin in Race 3, while the contest for second raged behind him. In the end, Baker claimed the runner-up spot ahead of Power and Lytras, with Khouri falling back to fifth with a wide moment at Turn 9.
However, Khouri extended his championship lead to 40 points and only needs to finish in the top 10 in the first of tomorrow’s two races to be assured of the title.
MotorsportsTV Supersport
Tom Toparis moved into the MotorsportsTV Supersport championship lead by scoring a pair of race wins.
However, his victories were not as comfortable as the scoreboard indicated; in Race 1, he had to fend off a hard-charging Broc Pearson, while in Race 2 he survived a last-corner assault from Max Stauffer.
“I can’t applaud Max enough, he’s going so well at the moment,” Toparis said. “I was expecting if someone came through, I could turn into the apex and pass them back and fortunately that’s how it played out.
Pearson capitalised on Stauffer’s last-lap error to make it a pair of second-place finishes.
Oli Bayliss, the points leader entering the weekend, finished fourth in both races; he ran as high as second in the early stages of Race 2 before falling back.
bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup
A clean sweep of race wins for Marianos Nikolis was enough for him to turn a nine-point series deficit into a 20 point lead.
Nikolis was closely challenged by Tom Drane and Cameron Dunker in Race 2, the three motorcycles separated by just 0.6s at the finish. However, Nikolis rode to a commanding 6.1s win in Race 3.
“Thanks to Tom and Cameron for some great racing, it was a lot of fun battling with them today,” Nikolis said.
YMF R3 Cup
Carter Thompson’s impressive form from Supersport 300 translated into the YMF R3 Cup, where he backed up yesterday’s race win with another pair of victories today. In Race 2, Thompson was able to extend a 2.6 second advantage over Archie McDonald but in Race 3, he was chased all the way to the finish line by John Lytras.
“It’s been hard work jumping between the two categories this weekend, but I’ve been trying to get my fitness up all year,” Thompson said.
Race fans can catch all the drama and action from the 2020 ASBK Grand Finale at Wakefield Park Raceway, December 3-6, live via ASBK live streaming, and through ASBK TV partners SBSHD, Fox Sports Australia and Fox Sports Asia on both Saturday and Sunday.
Keep up to date with the latest news on the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul, via www.asbk.com.au and following ASBK on Facebook and Instagram.
