Herfoss goes undefeated and closes in on YMI Superbike Championship at Morgan Park
Thousands of spectators flocked to Morgan Park Raceway in Queensland today to watch on, as Crankt Protein Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss stormed to victory across two races at Round 5 of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli.
With plenty of excitement on track during qualifying yesterday, when the Yamaha Motorcycle Insurance Superbikes headed out for their two races today, the action on track was exhilarating to say the least.
From the minute the YMI Superbike machines lined up for their media grid, there was a certain buzz in the air, and with spectators watching on like multiple time World Champion Mick Doohan, the stakes were higher than usual for Australia’s fastest men on two wheels.
But it was once again Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team’s Herfoss who stole the show from the minute bikes left the grid for their first 19 lap race, launching in to the early race lead followed by Yamaha Racing Team’s Wayne Maxwell and Glenn Allerton.
In what was a huge disappointment for DesmoSport Ducati’s Mike Jones, the defending ASBK champ was unable to even take part in the opening race sighting lap, entering the pits with bike problems, resulting in an absence from race one.
With two laps in the books, Herfoss was well and truly the fastest man on track, increasing his lead on Maxwell to an impressive two seconds. And with Herfoss holding a commanding gap on the field, the focus then shifted to the battle for second position, with Maxwell beginning to feel the pressure from Yamaha teammate Allerton and Jon Daniels Racing’s Daniel Falzon.
Unbelievably, as riders headed in to lap eight, Herfoss had put more than four seconds in between himself and closest competitor Maxwell.
Unfortunately for Yamaha Racing Team’s Cru Halliday, a crash on turn six during lap nine hampered his charge for a top five finish – and despite resuming for a small amount of time, the Yamaha rider eventually entered the pits, registering a DNF.
As race one for the YMI Superbikes progressed, Yamaha mounted Falzon made his way in to third position after making the pass on Allerton, who had been off the pace all weekend, while Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team’s Jamie Stauffer continued in fifth position.
But the man of the moment was undeniably Herfoss, who with only five laps to go had increased his lead to an impressive 5.6 seconds.
As race one reached its closing stages, riders had settled in to their positions, and it was clear that no one could get close to Herfoss’s incredible speed. So when the chequered flag flew, the Honda mounted star crossed the line victorious for the first time since round two by 3.748 seconds. Second place was snatched up by YRT’s Maxwell, followed by Tier 2 Yamaha rider Falzon who collected third – his first podium result for 2016.
Allerton wrapped up race one for the YMI Superbikes in fourth position, while Honda’s Stauffer completed the top five. Brayden Elliott, Sloan Frost, Brenton Hyde, Ryan Yanko and Adam Senior all occupied positions inside the top ten.
When race two kicked off late this afternoon, spectators had filled Morgan Park Raceway to see the final Round 5 battle play out, and when bikes launched off the grid for the final time, DesmoSport Ducati’s Jones was again a notable absentee, while Herfoss once again fired off in to the race lead.
Following Herfoss by 1.8 seconds after only one lap, was Yamaha Racing Team’s Halliday in second, while Maxwell slotted in to third position. But shortly after Maxwell put the foot down, passing his team mate in the back section of the track, and by lap three Maxwell was up to second position.
Unfortunately for Halliday, Allerton also had his teammate in his sights, and by lap four, Allerton had moved in to third position relegating Halliday to fourth.
By the halfway point in the final race, it was a familiar sight with Herfoss stretching out his lead to a whopping 4.8 seconds, while Maxwell continued to maintain second position, followed by teammates Allerton and Halliday who were going toe to toe for third place. Falzon was back in fifth position, followed by Stauffer in sixth.
And by lap 12, things began to really heat up on track, with Halliday making the move up to third position, passing his teammate and championship contender Allerton – relegating Allerton back to fourth place.
As race two reached its closing stages, Herfoss was untouchable out in front – once again stretching out his lead with every single lap he put down, and by the time riders reached lap 18 the Honda rider was in the box seat to go undefeated at Morgan Park.
And go undefeated is exactly what Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team’s rider did. Herfoss storming to his second race victory for the weekend, ahead of Yamaha Racing Team’s Maxwell, followed by teammate Halliday who crossed the finish line for the final time today in third.
Fourth place in race two was snatched up by Allerton, while Jon Daniels Racing’s Falzon completed the top five. Stauffer, Elliott, Ryan Hampton, Frost and Brenton Hyde made up the final top ten finishing positions.
With two from two race wins this weekend, Herfoss closed in on the YMI Superbike Championship and was awarded with the round five Superbike victory. Second position on the podium was taken by Maxwell, followed by teammate Allerton.
Troy Herfoss – Team Honda Racing – YMI Superbikes Round 5 Winner
“Today’s result is actually quite remarkable, I have never done the double, with a pole position and then two race wins,” Herfoss said.
“It’s just a great weekend, even from the test we just felt good right away, and this sport is all about confidence so to carry the confidence in to the race really helped me today.
“I am definitely relieved I wasn’t in a hard battle, because it was extremely hard work out there.
“I am just happy to be solid on the bike and be putting in good laps – it’s a credit to everyone here surrounding the podium -my team, and my sponsors they have done a great job, and I can’t stress enough how much work they have done,” he concluded.
Yamaha Motorcycle Insurance Superbikes Round 5 results:
1) Troy HERFOSS 51
2) Wayne MAXWELL 40
3) Glenn ALLERTON 34
4) Daniel FALZON 34
5) Jamie STAUFFER 31
6) Brayden ELLIOTT 29
7) Sloan FROST 26
8) Brenton HYDE 24
9) Ryan YANKO 22
10) Adam SENIOR 20
Yamaha Motorcycle Insurance Superbikes Championship Standings
1) Wayne MAXWELL 216
2) Troy HERFOSS 209
3) Glenn ALLERTON 205
4) Daniel FALZON 137
5) Mike JONES 137
6) Cru HALLIDAY 124
7) Brayden ELLIOTT 120
8) Jamie STAUFFER 115
9) Ben BURKE 114
10) Sloan FROST 98
The sixth and final round of the 2016 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK)will be held at Winton in Victoria on September 30, to October 2, 2016.
For more information on the ASBK, head to www.asbk.com.au, or for a full list of results from today, head to www.asbk.com.au,
More, from a press release issued by Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team:
Perfect weekend for Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team’s Herfoss at Morgan Park
7th August 2016
It was a fairy tale weekend for Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team’s Troy Herfoss at Round 5 of the Australian Superbike Championship at Morgan Park Raceway, while Jamie Stauffer also impressed with top five results at the penultimate round of racing.
With the Australian Superbike series reaching the pointy end of the championship, the Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team headed in to round five with the hope to close in on their competitors, and snatch up valuable championship points, and with Herfoss collecting a flawless two race wins, that’s exactly what they did.
From the minute Herfoss hit the track at Morgan Park for practice on Friday, he was simply unstoppable, and by the time qualifying and Pirelli Superpole took place on Saturday, Herfoss became the only rider to break in to the 1:13’s with a record best lap of 1:13.826, handing himself and the team with Pole position. When racing kicked off at Morgan Park today, Herfoss led both races from the minute he left the grid, taking the race one win by 3.748 seconds, while in the second race Herfoss won again by 3.202 seconds, going undefeated for the first time in his career and wrapping up round five on the top step of the podium.
“I can’t really describe the feeling I have right now. I’ve been racing a long time but to get a perfect weekend like we have is just so cool,” Herfoss shared.
“Even eating my lunch today, I carried the porridge from the microwave, dropped it, it did three little flips and then landed perfectly, so I knew it was my day.
“Every lap on the track today I felt so good, and the Pirelli tyres were fantastic out there. I keep saying it, but the team has worked so hard on this bike, and even though it’s older it really is just so nice to ride.
“Now I know we’re going to Winton with a really good chance of winning, so I definitely needed these extra points this weekend and the hard work has certainly paid off.”
The success for the Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team at Morgan Park also flowed on to Herfoss’s teammate, with Stauffer also taking part in Superpole and steering his CBR1000RRSP Honda machine to the sixth fastest time (1:14.802), before taking fifth in race one and sixth in race two, to conclude the round in fifth overall.
“It was a really positive day for us as a team, to see Troy come away with the round win and go undefeated was cool and I also made some progress myself,” Stauffer shared.
“Fifth and sixth place finishes is not exactly where we want to be, but with having injuries earlier in the year and a lot of time off the bike, it’s a step in the right direction.
“We only have one round of racing left now, so at Winton we’ll be doing the best we can to put both of the Hondas on the podium.”
Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team Manager Paul Free also shared that he’s over the moon with today’s result and gave credit to Pirelli tyres for their support.
“It’s been a fantastic weekend for us as a team, we knew what we wanted to achieve at Morgan Park, but Troy’s sheer pace today even shocked me,” Free shared.
“After our results back in Western Australia, we asked Pirelli for some additional support, and what they have provided us with has completely transformed our motorcycle, and has ultimately given us another shot at the Superbike championship.
“Now that our CBR1000RRSP is matched with this new Pirelli tyre, myself and the team are all very excited about what the future holds and we’re all looking forward to getting to Winton.”
The Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team’s next outing will be at Round 6, the final round of the 2016 Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli at Winton, from September 30 – October 2.
For more information on the ASBK Championship head to www.asbk.com.au.
To keep up to date with all of Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team news, results, and features, like the ‘Team Honda Racing’ Facebook page, follow @teamhondaracing on Instagram, or head to www.teamhondaracing.com.au.