Herfoss clinches 2018 ASBK title at Winton
The Honda rider has claimed his second Australian Superbike Championship crown in three yearsPenrite Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss secured the 2018 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) with a round to spare at Winton Motor Raceway on Sunday, September 8.
After starting from pole position, Herfoss was victorious in race one at the tight and twisty Winton circuit, and he then kept a cool head in race two with an error-free fifth position – enough to claim 2018 championship-designate status ahead of the Phillip Island finale from October 12-14.
It’s the second ASBK crown for Herfoss in three years, and the manufacture-leading 11th for Honda since the championship was officially inaugurated in 1989.
“It’s an incredible result and I’m just so thankful for everyone who has helped out this year,” Herfoss said.
“Deon (Coote) has taken over the team this season and has done a great job with the crew. It’s quite a small team and everyone has worked so hard – it feels good to really dominate it.
"There’s no questioning it, we’ve got the No. 1 plate with a round to go and we really earned it. This tops all the championships I’ve won before, simply because we've won so many races.
“We’re now at eight wins and I never dreamt that I would have that many in one year. This is the top of the pile for me and five overall victories is the icing on the cake.”
In an eventful red-flagged race one, Troy Herfoss defeated defending champion Josh Waters (Suzuki) and Troy Bayliss (Ducati), while long-time leader Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha) crashed out on lap eight – but not before setting a new lap record of 1:20.437.
Waters also hit the deck, but after the red flag was shown (after another competitor's bike caught fire) official results were put back to the last completed lap – a reprieve for the Mildura ace.
Bryan Staring (Kawasaki) and Alex Phillis (Suzuki) also crashed in race one, which saw South Aussie Arthur Sissis (Honda) finish in fourth position ahead of Daniel Falzon(Yamaha) and Mark Chiodo (Suzuki).
Race two was also red-flagged twice due to early crashes, so the scheduled 16-kapper was trimmed to 12 laps. This time, Maxwell made no mistakes as he scored a two-second victory over Waters, followed by Bayliss, Staring, Herfoss and Falzon.
Herfoss ow takes a unassailable 61.5pt (298.5 to 237) lead into the final round over Maxwell, followed by Bayliss (230), Waters (222.5), Falzon (217) and Staring (188.5).
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