ASBK Round 7: The Title Contenders Analysed

The top three riders in the Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship may be separated by just 4.5 points heading into this weekend’s deciding round, but the three of them have all experienced markedly different seasons, with contrasting highs and lows.

We took a look at each rider’s season, and caught up with each of them for some final thoughts ahead of the season finale.

Troy Herfoss – Penrite Honda Racing

241 points, 3 wins, 7 podiums

The defending champion hasn’t had the dominant speed he showed last season (when he won five of the seven rounds), but he’s still managed to work his way to the top of the points table when it counts.

Herfoss’ 2019 campaign started rather quietly in the season-opener at Phillip Island, but in Round 2 at Wakefield Park circuit, he continued his recent habit of lifting in front of his Goulburn home crowd and scored a pair of race victories.

No more race wins were forthcoming for Herfoss until he prevailed in the epic duel with Wayne Maxwell in Race 2 at Phillip Island, but he strung together a sequence of consistent finishes during the other rounds that enabled him to bank valuable points.

Troy says:

“I’ve been involved in title fights for a few years so I know what to expect, but the pressure will certainly be on this weekend. The good thing is we’ve been gaining momentum over the last few races.

“The Phillip Island round was above our expectations based on our previous results there; to come away with the championship lead was a surprise, but the way we got the bike working was very positive.

“Wayne and I have been big rivals since my first season at Honda; he’s the guy who’s always been up the front, so it was very satisfying to get one over him at a track where he’s always gone well.

“My goal is to be the most winning Australian Superbike rider – I would be honoured to win the title again and reward my team members for their efforts. If it comes down to the last lap of the last race and I need to pass someone to win the championship, you’ll bet I’ll be having a crack.”

Wayne Maxwell – Suzuki Ecstar Racing

238 points, 4 wins, 10 podiums

When Wayne Maxwell returned to the Suzuki team by taking an immediate win in the very first race of the season at Phillip Island, it looked like he was going to charge to the 2019 title in style.

But Maxwell fell – literally – back to reality in Race 2, retiring after a collision with Aiden Wagner, and only finished sixth in Race 3.

He managed to salvage an overall podium at Wakefield Park, despite not quite having the speed to challenge for victories, but more misfortune was in store in the opening race at The Bend, when he chalked up his second DNF of the season after an incident with Daniel Falzon.

Since then though, Maxwell has been the form rider of the series – he has finished the last eight races inside the top three, and scored a race victory in each of the last three rounds to catapult himself right back into the game.

Wayne says:

“Race pace is something we’ve worked on – I’ve always prided myself on having good speed over a complete distance, even though our one-lap speed isn’t quite as strong as others.

“The battles I’ve had recently with Mike and Troy were stressful at the time, but very rewarding when I look back at them.

“The Suzuki is a proven package at Sydney Motorsport Park; Josh (Waters) won both races last time we were there in 2017, which gives me confidence heading into this weekend. It’s going to be pretty warm, so tyre conservation will be a factor.

“Winning this year’s title would mean the world to me, after having two DNFs earlier in the year, it’s been a massive effort to fight our way back. It’s really been a rollercoaster ride.”

Mike Jones – Desmosport Ducati

236.5 points, 4 pole positions, 2 wins, 9 podiums

If the 2019 ASBK was decided on single-lap speed, Mike Jones would already have it in the bag. His qualifying performances over the last four rounds aboard the Ducati have been awe-inspiring, and the bonus points he has gained for his pole positions could make a big difference in the final calculations.

Considering he started the season on a privately-run Kawasaki and was not even planning to contest the full season, the fact Jones is only 4.5 points off the championship lead with one round remaining is something of a miracle. But his championship challenge rapidly gained momentum after his Ducati switch, and were it not for a DNF after the contact with Maxwell at Phillip Island, he could have been heading to SMP as the rider being chased by the others.

While his race pace has been perhaps a fraction down on Maxwell over the last couple of rounds, Jones is certainly capable of taking race victories, as he did at Morgan Park and Winton. One feels he will have to score at least one more win if he is to emerge victorious in this year’s title race.

Mike says:

“If you had told me at the start of the year that I would be in contention for the championship heading into the last round, I would have been in total disbelief; I wasn’t planning to do the full season until the Ducati opportunity came along.

“I’ve felt really good in qualifying – when I have grip, it gives me confidence and I feel like I can do anything on the bike.

“At Phillip Island, we were missing a bit of speed in Race 1, but we made an adjustment to the bike and we were back on the pace in Race 2. The incident with Wayne has only served to make me focus and concentrate on what I need to achieve this weekend.

“With such a high level of competition this season, whoever wins the championship well and truly deserves it. It would mean an enormous amount to me and my team.”

The others

While Herfoss, Maxwell and Jones are the main protagonists, three other riders head to SMP with mathematical possibilities of winning the title. Yamaha’s Cru Halliday is yet to join the race winner list in 2019, but featured at the pointy end of the standings in the first half of the season by finishing every one of the first 10 races inside the top five, including three podiums. A mistake in Race 2 at Winton lost Halliday some valuable points, but it was nowhere near as costly as his Race 2 crash at Phillip Island, which took him from being a genuine contender to an outside chance.

Josh Waters has struggled to match the pace of his Suzuki team mate Wayne Maxwell, but has kept himself in calculations by finishing every single race of the season inside the top six. Encouragingly, his best results came in the most recent round at Phillip Island, where he finished fourth and third in the two races. A tyre conservation-aided hat-trick of race wins at The Bend vaulted Bryan Staring into the championship lead after the first three rounds, but the Kawasaki rider has been unable to replicate that form at any of the other events. Staring hasn’t quite had the one-lap speed of others, achieving a best qualifying result of fifth. Nevertheless, he does have a shot at the title if the other contenders strike trouble.