Features 12 Mar 2014

2014 ASC Form Guide: The Contenders

Riders we think will be well in the battle for the Swann Series title.

Well here it is, the second of our three-part Swann Insurance Australasian Superbike Championship Form Guide ahead of this weekend’s season opener at Wakefield Park in Goulburn. Yesterday we outlined The Unknowns (click here to read), today is The Contenders – the guys that will no doubt vie for race wins and potentially the title – and tomorrow will be the clincher, The Favourites entering the new year.

Image: Alex Gobert.

Image: Alex Gobert.

Rider: Robbie Bugden
Team: Yamaha Racing Team with YMI
Bike: Yamaha YZF-R1
Title chances: B+
Rundown: So how do we rate the current ASBK number three behind his teammates Kevin Curtain and Rick Olson, who are now obviously rated inside the top five? Well, it’s simple really. Bugden’s new to the team, has limited laps on the YZF-R1 and will have to re-learn select circuits the series visits. Is he as good as them? You bet, but he has more to overcome than the two of them, who will enter the season with continuation on their sides from the past few years. What Bugden does have on his side is confidence after a strong showing in ASBK last year, so that combined with his recent experience on some of the technical New Zealand tracks will work in his favour. If he can learn to extract the most from the R1 in a short period, he’ll be as strong as we’ve ever seen him.

Rider: Cru Halliday
Team: Yamaha Racing Team with YMI
Bike: Yamaha YZF-R1
Title chances: B
Rundown: We rate Halliday, there’s no two ways about it. He’s determined and has a lot of self-confidence, which has been built by winning a variety of support categories in his career. Now is the opportunity he’s been waiting for in with the best of the best, and judging by his test pace at Wakefield, he’s more than ready. But the guys he will go up against won’t be easy beat – especially on what is regarded as better equipment in race trim. Can he be top Yamaha? Well he didn’t beat Olson last year on the 600, who in turn didn’t beat Curtain on the 1000, though it’s no secret Halliday prefers the R1 and he’s well experienced on it in a variety of specifications. It’s going to be tight between the boys in blue, but winning the title won’t be so ‘easy’ for any of them in 2014.

Rider: Troy Herfoss
Team: Team Honda Racing
Bike: Honda CBR1000RR SP
Title chances: B
Rundown: After a year out of the game, Herfoss enters this weekend as the hometown hero in his first national appearance at Wakefield Park. He’s logged a decent amount of laps in the pre-season aboard a borrowed Honda, as well as just one day on the SP that he’ll ride in place of Josh Hook at round one. As he’s learnt, a year off is a long time in racing terms, but just as he did in 2009 through 2011 with Suzuki, Herfoss will rise to the occasion against the odds with good people around him. As Halliday is, he’s a former Supermoto standout (one of the world’s best in Troy’s case) and is recognised as an all-rounder, which is why he adapts well to anything. Where he may come across a challenge is when he reverts back to privateer status upon Hook’s return.

Image: Keith Muir.

Image: Keith Muir.

Rider: Matt Walters
Team: Kawasaki Connection
Bike: Kawasaki ZX-10R
Title chances: B-
Rundown: Walters is the defending ASC champion following the one-off inaugural event in Sydney late last year. But winning that title again against Allerton, Maxwell and co. will be one of the biggest challenges of his career. Walters is another to have a number of support class titles under his belt, and has the equipment to run at the front even if he’s not part of a full factory team. There will be circuits where he well and truly shines, but others where his more experienced rivals will excel. Race wins are on the menu, overall podiums too, but he’s going to have to place his best foot forward to win this championship every time he’s on the bike.

Rider: Josh Hook
Team: Team Honda Racing
Bike: Honda CBR1000RR SP
Title chances: B-
Rundown: Unfortunately for Hook he’s going to miss the season opener due to injuries sustained at Phillip Island recently and that significantly reduces his title hopes. But don’t discount him for race wins when he returns. Where he’ll end up in the series is anybody’s guess, although after a season of learning the Superbike trade in 2013 he’s already proven he can battle with and beat both Maxwell and Stauffer on his day. Doing that each race weekend – especially coming back from injury – will be a hard task while trying to minimise mistakes at the same time.

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