Features 21 Aug 2014

Catching Up: Troy Herfoss

Swann Series form racer on breakthrough Winton weekend and Suzuka showing.

Team Honda’s Troy Herfoss is one of the Swann Series’ form competitors at present, recently achieving his first ‘Sunday’ race wins at Winton and hauling himself into genuine title contention. Its been a busy period for Herfoss, who was also selected to race at the Suzuka 8-Hour in what was his first showing at the famed race. CycleOnline.com.au caught up with him to find out more about his winning weekend at Winton and his Suzuka experience.

Image: Keith Muir.

Image: Keith Muir.

Firstly, congratulations on your successful weekend at Winton. Can I go back to Queensland though, to that last race where you came so close to winning; how much did that motivate you to push extra hard for the next round?

It motivated me a lot. I think as the weekend progressed in Queensland we worked out a few things with the bike. And probably getting a bit more riding throughout the year has allowed it to all piece together. As Queensland rolled through I gained confidence, but after that last race I was furious about getting beaten. I really thought I had it; it was a close battle all the way to the line. To lead a whole race and then get done on the finish line is obviously pretty frustrating. So going to Winton I realised I could still win the championship if I could start winning races, and so the goal shifted and from Winton on I just wanted to do that. But yeah, it was so good to get some wins at Winton, that’s for sure.

There has been plenty of discussion about the Swann Series’ qualifying format, which is treated differently depending on the rider. Ultimately though, everyone is out there and racing in some form or another for their grid position on Sunday, so your performance must have been super satisfying?

That’s right. It’s an interesting concept. Once the guys watching learn a bit about how it works it’s probably as interesting as qualifying, because you can see some guys use different tactics. Some sit off and wait, and for some it helps to race. For me personally, I get a lot out of racing and I find I go just as fast. But other people like to sit back and not worry about the result so much. I think it’s an exciting way of doing things and definitely can be fine-tuned. I think I read a bit a few weeks ago that it will be changed, so we’ll have to wait and see at Wakefield.

Come Sunday it was clear you’d be challenging for wins at you were able to take two from three. Were you surprised to achieve this milestone at a track you’ve essentially had very little racing experience at?

Yeah it was really good. At the start of the year, if you’d have said that Winton would be my first wins of the year, I’d have been surprised. I have only been there on the 600 in ’09, and the weather was bad on the Friday and I’d only done a couple of laps in the wet qualifier that day. But everything just clicked for me; we didn’t really change the bike at all from Queensland and it’s just becoming easier and easier to ride. I didn’t really have to worry about the bike, it was moreso just getting my head around the track. Once I realised Wayne and I had a big gap, it’s obviously a lot easier to get the job done when it’s one on one. Things were a bit different for me by the end of the day. By mid-way through Sunday Wayne had taken the championship lead, that always changes your mentality. He actually wanted to win as much as I did, maybe a few things just went my way at the end of the day. It was definitely a lot of fun. It was disappointing to crash out of the second one; it makes the championship that much harder to win and I’d probably have to rely on some bad luck from Wayne or Jamie.

Just on your teammates there, and both Wayne and Jamie have had their own struggles with injury, both when leading the points chase. I know you wouldn’t want to win the title on the back of someone else’s misfortune, but you must now have a sniff off an opportunity with momentum behind you and two rounds to run?

It could be tough for Wayne. But you’ve got to remember that he went to the first round at Wakefield after a heavy crash, so he’s not going to be slow by any means. I don’t know the extent of his injuries, but the collarbone will heal pretty quick. He’ll be competitive. And obviously Jamie was a long way from a hundred percent at Winton. Like you said, you don’t want to win that way. Hopefully by Eastern Creek everyone’s fit and healthy and we can race to see who the fastest is.

Image: Keith Muir.

Image: Keith Muir.

What’s it like having four guys level-pegged on pace and ability within the same team? It must be an interesting environment to be a part of?

Yeah, you got that right. I’ve never been in a team where it is that close. Usually there’s two riders, and one’s generally got the edge over the other most weekends. But at the moment we’ve got four riders that all believe we can win. And we all have to think we’re better than the guy next to us. It’s strange though, we all get along really good. I’d like to say there’s fireworks and that, but we just get along well. When the season goes on and we get the pointy-end, well, who knows [laughs]. But we get along great. We’ve all got a lot of respect for another, on the track we race close. You could see that at Winton where there was some times with Wayne and I when we were within millimetres of another. It’s good to have guys that you trust to race hard with. But in the same way it’s difficult… It’s hard to see Honda fielding a four-rider team again, and we’re all fighting for our rides. It’s interesting and I’m enjoying it so far.

Your first showing at the Suzuka 8-Hour didn’t go to plan on paper, but was it a positive experience to be a part of such a renowned race?

Yeah it was an amazing experience. When I think about the whole experience I don’t even think about how bad the race went because it was that much fun to go and ride the track, and meet the people in the team and just see how dedicated they are about that race. Finishing it is really important; they spent an hour and a half fixing our bike and we finished. But personally it probably worked out okay for me, because I got to learn about the team, the track and how the race works. Hopefully I can go back again next year. It could have been a good year for us this year. Jamie was going really fast, and so was our Japanese teammate. As the weekend went on I sort of stepped up to a suitable pace as well. A lot of people had bad luck though, that’s all part of a race like that, and we were just one of the teams.

So does racing overseas again and your recent run of form whet your appetite for pursuing something beyond domestic circles? Any longer term plans in place?

At the moment my focus is to secure a ride with Honda. I’ve been home a year and I really enjoy being here. I think the championship’s growing, and so is the level of competition. I’m enjoying the way it’s going. Obviously I wouldn’t go overseas in the way I did before. I’d do it, only if the right opportunity was there and there was a competitive bike. And then I’d have to seriously consider it. So at the moment I’m focused on Australia, and who knows what the possibilities will be in the coming years. This year I was lucky to be put into the team, some of it I was funding myself, so I’d really like to work hard to be a part of the official team.

Thanks for the chat Troy.

No problem, good talking.

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