Penrite Honda Racing’s Herfoss Sweeps Morgan Park ASBK Weekend

Penrite Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss has extended his lead in the 2018 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK) to 44.5 points following a dominant display at Morgan Park Raceway this weekend.

Herfoss scored the Elite Roads pole position on Saturday with a new best lap of 1m12.651s, before going on to capture victory in both of Sunday’s 16-lap races around the technical 2.967-kilometre Queensland circuit.

It was a stunning ride from 2016 title-winner Herfoss aboard his ER Motorsport-prepared CBR1000RR SP Fireblade, patient in his approach and striking when it counted in the closing laps of both races to make it four-consecutive overall wins.

On top of Herfoss’ exceptional results for the round, a scintillating 1m12.645s lap-time set in the middle stages of race two smashed the previous lap record and lowered his own fastest-ever Superbike lap of Morgan Park from qualifying the day prior.

“This was the best weekend I’ve ever had, really!” beamed Herfoss. “We had a lot of pace all weekend and it showed in qualifying when we set pole position on a race tyre. In the races we had a clear strategy to save the tyre as much as possible in the early stages and I think that showed.

“We were able to pick off the other guys as the races wore on and, in the end, it resulted in two dominant race victories. I’m just that stoked for the whole team to deliver this type of reward, so thanks to everybody at Penrite Honda Racing and all of our supporters. Now we are really looking forward to the next round.”

It was another great reward for the Penrite Honda Racing squad, continuing to focus on the championship in the team’s first season of ASBK competition together with Honda Motorcycles Australia. Team manager Shaun Clarke said these results are a testament of the work that has gone into each round of 2018.

“The results this weekend are probably a reflection of how we tested here and we basically didn’t change the bike at all,” Clarke commented. “It was just about putting the laps in, making sure we could make the tyre last and that was about it! We made a small traction control mapping change today for the first few laps and that was all.

“Troy was very patient today, which is sometimes very difficult for riders, but he did what he had to do and rode quite smart. The way the bike was working, he was able to keep driving forward through the races and the K-Tech Suspension is working really well for us.

“We have a clear direction, to focus on winning at every round, and if we do that the points will sort themselves out. There is the opportunity to wrap it up at Winton a round early, but if it doesn’t happen then we’ll look to the following round. Regardless, the plan is to go out and win – we won’t be going into conservation mode whatsoever.”

With Herfoss leading the championship standings by 44.5 points, Penrite Honda Racing’s next event will take place at the penultimate round of the ASBK series between 7-9 September at Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria.

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Image credit: Russell Colvin