CycleOnline.com.au assesses the Hits and Misses following Wakefield Park’s spectacular second round of the 2017 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) presented by Motul Pirelli.

Hit

Image: Keith Muir.

Troy Herfoss (Crankt Protein Honda Racing) – Superbike, first overall:
The defending champion appeared to be in a class of his own at home in Goulburn, but he missed out on the perfect weekend following a costly error and a premature end of race two. Pole position and the opening race win went to plan, even though he started from the back of the grid on slicks, however he didn’t get the CBR1000RR SP off the line in race two and had to come from the mid-pack to P2 when the race was declared. We said it was a ‘must-win’ for Herfoss and he got it done with the overall.

Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team) – Superbike, second overall:
If there’s one thing you can count on with Maxwell, he will always be in the mix when it counts and if he has a chance to win a race, he more than likely will. New to Pirellis ahead of round two, the 2013 champion qualified second and won race two (just), but choosing wets in the first race wasn’t the way to go. Still, he was the best of the guys on wets in practically dry conditions, limping to eighth in the opening affair, which played a part in him scoring second for the round.

Tom Toparis (Cube Racing Kawasaki) – Supersport, first overall:
Move over Troy Herfoss, there’s another crowd favourite in town! In just his second Supersport round, teenage Goulburn racer Toparis managed to take pole and go 1-4 for the overall, even though he had to start from the back in race two. On top of that, Toparis was initially disqualified after race two due to an issue with his tyres, but was eventually reinstated and declared the deserved winner. Come Monday he was back in class at high school.

Miss

Image: Keith Muir.

Mitch Levy (ATR Yamaha) – Superbike, 17th overall:
After such a strong weekend at Phillip Island as best of the rookies, we had high expectations for Levy this weekend. But it just didn’t happen for whatever reason – we didn’t get to speak to him on Sunday afternoon – and he will be eager to reset for Winton. The conditions made life harder for the true privateers as well, so in the end we saw Levy qualifying 14th and go 16-14 in the races for 17th overall.

Cru Halliday (IPONE/YMF/YMI Yamaha) – Superbike, 20th overall:
You had to feel for Halliday, ending up 20th overall after what had been a top weekend in terms of outright pace. From the front row of the grid, the decision to race on wets in race one was the wrong one, resulting in 17th, and then he very near won race two after shadowing former teammate Wayne Maxwell much of the way. Unfortunately, once Troy Herfoss made his way by on lap 16, Halliday crashed out soon afterwards at turn three on the following lap to cause a red flag stoppage. There was little reward for so much promise.

Mark Chiodo (Repsol GAS Racing Triumph) – Supersport, 16th overall:
It was another up and down weekend for Chiodo on his 675 R, qualifying second and displaying the type of speed he has in the dryer conditions, but race day was a difficult one. More mistakes were made and more crashes happened, but as we say, once he puts it all together he will be in contention for round wins and podiums every single weekend. A scorecard of 19-13 was the end result for P16 overall.