Link International press release:

Pirelli-equipped riders claim victory across varying categories in a challenging second round of the 2017 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli at Wakefield Park, including Troy Herfoss (Superbike), Tom Toparis (Supersport), Jack Mahaffy (Supersport 300/Over 300), Reid Battye (Supersport 300/Up To 300) and Jack Passfield (R3 Cup).

Wakefield Park, 20 March 2017 – Crankt Protein Honda Racing’s reigning Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss took the win at home during Wakefield Park’s second round of the 2017 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli on 17-19 March.

Pirelli rider Herfoss delighted Goulburn locals by taking pole position with a 58.096s at the 2.2-kilometre circuit on Saturday and 1-2 results on Sunday, despite mixed weather conditions playing havoc across the weekend. On again, off again rain in the region made for one of the most challenging weekends to be encountered by competitors all season.

In the opening 20-lap race Herfoss initially opted for Pirelli Diablo Rain tyres, however with the track surface quickly drying he pitted following the sighting lap and switched to the most common Pirelli selection of Diablo Superbike 120/70R-17 SC1 front and 200/60-R-17 SC0 rear slicks. That decision meant he had to start from the rear of the grid, but it mattered little as he shot to the front on lap three and went on to win by 3.955s after cruising to the finish.

Race two was another spectacular one for Herfoss, recovering from an error off the start that left him well outside of the top 10, before eventually closing on the leaders and seizing first position on lap 16. However a red flag and declared race saw results revert back to lap 15, bumping the number one plate-holder back to second. Still, he won the overall and moved to second in the standings as a result.

“It was a really tough weekend, but this track is a really strong one for me,” Herfoss said. “We had all conditions thrown at us – wet, dry or in between – so I’m really happy that we got pole position, a race win and round win. That enabled us to catch a lot of points back, so I couldn’t be happier. It was almost a perfect weekend!”

New to Pirelli for Wakefield Park, Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team) won race two and claimed second overall, while Bryan Staring (Crankt Protein Honda Racing) and points leader Daniel Falzon (Caterpillar JD Racing Yamaha) were fourth and fifth overall respectively. Falzon was third in the second race and returning international Josh Hook (Kawasaki) impressed for P3 in the opening race, claiming sixth overall. Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Josh Waters took seventh.

It was a Pirelli sweep of the podium in Supersport as Tom Toparis (Cube Racing) qualified on pole position and went 1-4 in the races – the first being staged in full wet conditions and the two-part second affair held in mixed conditions. Most common of the Pirellis was the Diablo Supercorsa 120/70ZR-17 SC1 front and 190/60ZR-17 SU1148 rear, as well as the 180/60ZR-17 SC1 rear.

“It was definitely a good weekend and I felt like I did a good job,” 16-year-old Toparis said. “It’s really rewarding for myself and the Cube Racing team – I’m glad I could get this result so early in the season and I feel like we are in it for the championship now!”

Joining Toparis on the podium for the weekend was race two winner and new championship leader Ted Collins (Next Gen Motorsports Suzuki) and Nic Liminton (Yamaha), while Sam Condon (Yamaha), Jordan Carlsson (Yamaha) filled the top five. Giuseppe Scarcella (Kawasaki) was a standout in finishing race one second, as Phillip Island winner Mason Coote (Yamaha) made a positive debut with AARK Racing for third in race two.

Pirelli’s success extended to the talent-packed Supersport 300 category, where Jack Mahaffy (Yamaha, Over 300) and Reid Battye (Kawasaki, Up To 300) used Diablo Supercorsa 110/70ZR-17 SC1 front and 140/70ZR-17 SC2 rear options in the dry and Diablo Rain tyres in the wet for their respective class wins. The opening round of the R3 Cup resulted in Jack Passfield (Yamaha) taking out the overall utilising the same tyre selection.

“We are really pleased with the overall results for Pirelli riders at Wakefield Park,” explained Don Nicholas, Link International Pirelli Moto product manager. “Each of the days presented difficult conditions, but allowed us an opportunity to showcase the performance of both our wet and dry tyres with riders across all classes.

“The Diablo Rain tyres proved their performance with impressive qualifying and race times in Superbike, Supersport and the 300 classes on what was a tricky and varied surface for riders to manage. In the dry, the choice of Diablo Superbike and Supercorsa again proved successful. We will now take what we have learned this weekend and build for Winton.”

Round three of the 2017 Australian Superbike Championship will be contested at Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria on 28-30 April. Pirelli Motorcycle Tyres are imported and distributed exclusively in Australia by Link International. Visit www.linkint.com.au for additional information.