Herfoss is the Boss of the Bend with Overall Victory
April 22 2018
Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda, CBR1000SP) has taken two of the three races here at The Bend Motorsport Park for Round 3 of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK), to take out the round win and build on his championship lead. Herfoss leaves The Bend with two race wins and a third place, barring his poor start in race one Herfoss didn’t put a foot wrong.
Race Two
Herfoss has bounced back after his poor start in race one to claim victory in race two of YMI Superbike. Herfoss showed great pace throughout the 10-lap race, making his move for the lead on lap six and didn’t look back.
Herfoss was thrilled to grab his third race win of the season; “The target this year is to win races, we have to match race wins to take out this championship, Wayne and I now have three wins a piece. I was able to be patient and the bike is coming out of the corner so well that I didn’t have to take a dive on the inside, I could wait and make my move. A big thank you to the Penrite Honda team and Pirelli for all the support and we look forward to race three.”
Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1M) got the jump off the line from pole position and controlled the early laps of the race, looking like he was going to make it two from two here at The Bend. Herfoss was patient and made the move on lap six, but once Herfoss made the move, Bryan Staring (BCPerformance, Kawasaki ZX-10R) was right onto the back wheel of Maxwell.
Staring made his move on Maxwell on lap eight and set his sights on trying to track down Herfoss who had pulled out to a one second lead. Staring managed to get up on the back wheel of Herfoss, but just couldn’t find a way past.
Glenn Allerton (NextGen Motorsports, BMW S1000RR) finished the race like a freight train, making moves a plenty and getting to the line in fourth position, whilst behind him Daniel Falzon (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1M) and Troy Bayliss (Desmosport Ducati, 1299 Panigale) had a sprint to the line and the pair were separated by a hair, with Falzon getting the better of Bayliss for fifth position.
Alex Phillis (Phillis Racing, Suzuki GSX-R1000R) and Jamie Stauffer (Craig McMartin Racing, Ducati Panigale R) enjoyed a battle that went back and fourth throughout the race, but it would be Phillis who crossed the line in seventh and Stauffer settled for eighth.
The man who continues to get off the line well, Arthur Sissis (SA Demolition, Suzuki GSX-R1000R) continued his good starts here at The Bend and got into the first turn in third position but faded as the race went on and finished ninth.
Mitch Rees (Tony Rees Motorcycles, Honda CBR) put in a solid performance to round out the top ten in race two.
The biggest news out of race two was defending YMI Superbike Champion Josh Waters (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, GSX-R1000R), pulled out of the race with technical issues on lap two.
YMI Superbike Race Two Provisional Results
1. Troy HERFOSS (Penrite Honda Racing, Honda CBR1000SP )
2. Bryan STARING (Kawasaki BCperformance, Kawasaki ZX-10R)
3. Wayne MAXWELL (Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R1M)
4. Glenn ALLERTON (NextGen Motorsports, BMW S1000RR)
5. Daniel FALZON (Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R1M)
6. Troy BAYLISS (Desmosport Ducati, Ducati Panigale FE)
7. Alex PHILLIS (Phillis Racing, Suzuki GSX-R1000)
8. Jamie STAUFFER (Craig McMartin Racing, Ducati Panigale R)
9. Arthur SISSIS (SA Demolition, Suzuki GSX-R000)
10. Mitch REES (Tony Rees M-cycles,Honda CBR1000)
Race Three
Herfoss has taken out a declared race three. The Honda rider managed to control the race out front and had a good battle with Falzon (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1M) before the race was declared after Bayliss crashed in the late stages of the race.
Falzon grabbed his first podium in season 2018 in front of his home crowd in race three, finishing in second behind Herfoss. Falzon’s second place finish pushed him up into third overall for the weekend on his new home track.
Herfoss leaves The Bend with the points lead and back to back overall wins after Wakefield Park Raceway; “It is such a good feeling to get the win here as it was such a difficult race out there, I was trying to control the race as well as I could and then I looked back and saw Daniel and knew he would be hungry for a win so I put my head down and continued to push. The Penrite Honda team and the Pirelli tyres are all going well so now we look forward to Darwin,” said Herfoss.
Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1M) continued his good weekend at The Bend picking up a third place in race three to hand him second overall for the round.
Staring (BCPerformance, Kawasaki ZX-10R) backed up his third in race two, with a fourth place in race three to end the weekend on a high after a disastrous race one where he didn’t finish.
Allerton (NextGen Motorsports, BMW S RR) rounded out the top five and showed some really good speed today, whilst reigning champion Waters finished in sixth for a round that was filled with frustrations, after mechanical problems forced him out of race two.
Stauffer (Craig McMartin Racing, Ducati Panigale R) continues to impress on his return to ASBK, sliding his Ducati into seventh position just ahead of Mark Chiodo (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, Suzuki GSRX-R) who grabbed a top ten finish in eighth.
The battle for ninth went right down to the final straight with Alex Phillis (Phillis Racing, Suzuki GSX-R1000) and Kyle Buckley (Kawasaki BCPerformance, Kawasaki ZX-10R) duked it out, but it was Phillis who crossed the line in ninth whilst Buckley rounded out the top ten.
YMI Superbike Race Three Provisional Results
1. Troy HERFOSS (Penrite Honda Racing, Honda CBR1000SP)
2. Daniel FALZON (Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R1M)
3. Wayne MAXWELL (Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R1M)
4. Bryan STARING (Kawasaki BCperformance, Kawasaki ZX-10R)
5. Glenn ALLERTON (NextGen Motorsports, BMW S1000RR)
6. Josh WATERS (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, Suzuki GSX-R100R)
7. Jamie STAUFFER (Craig McMartin Racing, Ducati Panigale R)
8. Mark CHIODO (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, Suzuki GSX-R1000R)
9. Alex PHILLIS (Phillis Racing, Suzuki GSX-R1000)
10. Kyle BUCKLEY (BCPerformance, Kawasaki ZX-10R)
Herfoss now leaves The Bend with a 23-point lead in the championship with 173 points, trailing by 23 points is Maxwell on 150 points whilst his team-mate Falzon has moved his way into third position with 134 points.
The YMI Superbike paddock now head up to the ‘Top End’ as Round 4 will be at Hidden Valley Raceway, Darwin on June 28-July.
2018 ASBK Calendar
Round 4- Hidden Valley Raceway, Darwin NT June 28 – 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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More, from a press release issued by Desmosport Ducati:
MIXED EMOTIONS FOR DESMOSPORT DUCATI’S BAYLISS AT THE BEND
It was a bittersweet weekend at The Bend Motorsport Park’s third round of the 2018 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) for DesmoSport Ducati’s Troy Bayliss, matching his best individual race performance of the season and leading a number of laps, prior to crashing out of the third and final encounter in South Australia.
Setting the third-fastest time of 1m53.366s in qualifying to place his 1299 Panigale R Final Edition on the front row of the premier class grid, it was evident the three-time Superbike world champion was quickly well-acquainted with the brand new venue.
Following a restart of race one due to an on-track incident, Bayliss displayed his comfort on the technically-challenging 4.95-kilometre International Circuit, charging to second position and putting up a spirited fight for the top spot.
Race two proved to be a more challenging one for Bayliss, pressing on to sixth after sitting in fourth for much of the race. Looking to make amends in the race three, he shot out into the lead for a number of laps, but a major incident on lap seven forced him out of the race that was subsequently red-flagged.
As a result, Bayliss was credited eighth overall for the round and currently sits fifth in the championship standings following three rounds of seven. It’s suspected that he’s fractured a finger in the fall.
“I’m really disappointed, we had been going good all weekend,” Bayliss commented. “We’ve been struggling with the same thing all year – initial tyre grip – and we’ve tried so many things, but it’s such a fine window to try and get it right. In that last race through the fast rights, you can’t close the gas and you’ve got to hold the throttle.
“I went a tiny bit wide, shut off a little and the back just came around and threw me straight over the handlebars – it was a massive high-side. I came out of it pretty good, I probably have a crack in my finger, but it just knocked the wind out of me really.
“Overall, we were up there and showed a bit of speed. I want to win a couple of races and, more importantly to me, I probably should’ve eased up as I was riding over what the bike was doing this afternoon, but when you get a sniff at it, you want to have a bit of a dig.”
DesmoSport Ducati team manager and co-owner Ben Henry expressed his disappointment in the way the weekend ended, truly believing Bayliss was in for a strong chance of victory. However, he’s optimistic in set-up changes heading into Darwin’s fourth round that will benefit the number 21 in a bid to stand on the top step of the podium.
“We were so close, yet so far away,” said Henry. “We’re definitely coming and I thought we could do the job this week, I’m just disappointed with the result in the last one. Again, it’s more races under our belt, and we’ve got a break now. I’ve got a few ideas to bridge that small gap – we’re getting close. The last race didn’t end as we planned, but that’s racing.”
The Australian Superbike Championship will return to action 28 June-1 July at Hidden Valley Raceway in the Northern Territory.
Like DesmoSport Ducati on Facebook, Follow @desmosportducati on Instagram and visit www.asbk.com.au for further information. Cube Performance Centre also has an exclusive DesmoSport Ducati section on its website, available to view at www.asbk.com.au
More, from a press release issued by Penrite Honda Racing:
PENRITE HONDA RACING’S HERFOSS INCREASES ASBK ADVANTAGE AT THE BEND
Penrite Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss put on an excellent display at round three of the 2018 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) in South Australia, clinching victory in the weekend’s overall standings at the all-new The Bend Motorsport Park.
Qualifying second with a 1m52.629s, Herfoss started from middle of the front row in race one, and – following a brief stoppage – stormed his way into the top three during the restart despite a difficult launch, lodging the fastest lap of the race and track record at the time to wind up third.
Coming off an inspiring ride, the New South Welshman was destined for a strong finish in Sunday’s final pair of 10-lap races around the 4.95-kilometre International Circuit. Positioning himself well in the beginning of race two, Herfoss was able to steal the lead on lap seven, riding home to a hard-fought 0.220s victory.
The final outing wasn’t short of drama, as another on-track incident called for a red flag, this time seeing the race declared six laps in. It proved to be play into Herfoss’ favour however, clinching yet another narrow 0.174s victory and rewarding him with the overall while strengthening his championship lead to 23 points.
“We were really strong this weekend when people probably didn’t think we were going to be, so now we’re going to Darwin with a healthy lead and the bike is probably going to be better than what people think up there as well,” explained Herfoss, who claimed a new lap record of 1m52.939s in race two.
“We’re really happy, Shaun and the guys work really hard and it’s just exciting at the moment – the whole team is motivated and we’re getting the results – so we couldn’t be happier.
“I feel like we’re really getting some momentum going, race two especially I was completely in control – I could sit in the draft and pass. I didn’t have to make any impatient moves and I played the race how I wanted it to play out, so it was a really, really good weekend.”
Penrite Honda Racing team manager Shaun Clarke praised the team’s efforts as a whole and believes this weekend’s performance is a sign of greater things to come as the squad continues to establish itself.
“It’s a very, very strong result for the team going into a little bit of a break,” Clarke commented. “We extended our championship lead considerably, even though we probably left a few points on the table yesterday. The bike is getting a lot stronger and the team is getting a lot stronger – I think we’re really starting to get wound up.
“We’ve taken a pretty calm approach to getting our season underway, there’s a lot more we’d like to do, but we’re not quite ready to go yet being a new team. Now that we have a break, we can finish our workshop for one, and then we can get started on some pretty serious work heading into round four.”
The next stop on the calendar is scheduled for 28 June-1 July at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin, Northern Territory. Follow Team Honda Racing on Facebook and @teamhondaracing on Instagram/Twitter for the latest updates.