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