Herfoss has had to learn all-new circuits in his rookie road race season

Well here we are one week away from round three of the championship. It feels like forever since I have raced the bike, but I have been riding as much as possible since Phillip Island and I feel like I am making some progress.

The only problem is that when I ride it is with my Team Joe Rocket Suzuki teammates Josh Waters and Shawn Giles, so not only am I riding with two of the fastest Superbike riders in the country, but they are also on the fastest Superbike there is.

That means that by the time I get a grip on the ’bars and my eyes focused back on the track, they are out of sight so I don’t really get much of a look at what lines they are taking.

Obviously my competitors on the 600s are not going to let me tuck in behind them to get up to speed and I don’t expect them too, so I think the best way to get up to speed is by racing the bike. For me, when I get into a racing situation I can forget or ride around some problems I might have.

We tested for two days at Queensland Raceway last week. Looking at the track, it looks so basic but to ride it is another story because it’s so bumpy. Shawn and Josh tried to explain it but until you ride that track it’s hard to believe how bumpy it really is.

It took me all of the two days and I’m still not comfortable there. I think it goes back to what I said about racing and riding – while I ride around there trying to go fast I’m thinking about all these bumps, but I know once the lights go out in the race I’ll forget about the bumps and ride my race.

The team has been really helpful has always. I feel really comfortable there so I hope I can get up to speed and get the results the bike deserves.

Earlier this week I drove 12 hours up to Ipswich just for the ride day to be rained out and called off, so then I drove all the way back home. Hopefully I can get this double-header out of the way with four consistent races and move on to Eastern Creek.

I have been lucky enough to ride the Creek a couple of times and it’s a track that I enjoy. I have even booked myself into every track day that Eastern Creek is having from June to 7 August!

I had my first track day without the stopwatches and team with me a few weeks ago at Wakefield Park. MotoOnline.com.au’s very own Alex Gobert and Superbike champion Glenn Allerton joined me for the day.

It was great to get out there just to ride around, although I couldn’t ride around too much with Alex showing a wheel everywhere! It is days like that riding around with guys like my teammates and Glenn and listening to what they have to say that will help me gain experience.

Away from the track just been keeping fit and did a little bit of work with my dad, but not too much! I have also been racing my pushbike a little bit which is always fun and helps with the fitness.

I recently spoke to my Supermoto team from last year and Mark Burkhart just got their first win riding my old bike last weekend, so congrats to them. My teammate from last year, Chris Fillmore, got his first top ten finish in the Daytona Sportbike class in the AMA at Infineon on the same weekend – good work mate.

Troy has switched to Shark helmets for the remainder of 2009

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to get away with my dad and some local boys for a three day trail ride from Eden in NSW to Dargo in Victoria this past weekend, which was the first one that my dad and I have done in years.

It was an unbelievable ride and before the ride dad lectured us about it being three full days of riding so we must ride to get there and be careful. Well, forty kilometres or so in my dad came flying past me on a dirt road sliding and wheel standing everywhere.

Shortly after I came around a corner to find him lying on the side of the road – he’d flipped it in top gear. “Do as I say, not as I do,” right!

The riding around the Dargo was really cool. I managed to get four punctures over the three days, but I won’t lie – one of them was me pinching it trying to get it back on.

That’s it for now.

See you in Queensland!