As the penultimate round of the 2014 Swann Insurance Australasian Superbike Championship draws nearer, series organisers took time to speak to the in-form rider of the series, Honda’s Troy Herfoss. Herfoss will be riding in front of his local crowd at Wakefield Park from 13-14 September and the man from Goulburn has given us an inside into how he is approaching the round.

Image: Keith Muir.

How are you feeling about the round coming up this weekend?

Good, especially after Winton. I’m just hoping that I can keep going with the form that I am currently in, and hoping that I can keep the pressure on Wayne for the championship.

You must be excited riding at your home round, with a lot of support out there watching you?

Yeah, it is going to be good, there are a lot of locals who are going to come out to see and hopefully we get a bigger crowd than last time if the weather is good. It should be one of the better rounds of the year I hope.

Do you feel like you have a significant advantage growing up in the area and riding next door to the track you grew up with?

The funny thing is that I grew up in Goulburn but I probably have the least amount of experience at Wakefield as anyone else. I haven’t raced there much or anything and not at the start of the year, but for sure having all my friends there is a big one and I would definitely like to win in front of all of them. I have been in Goulburn all my life so I have got a good following here and have a lot of friends and they have supported my racing over the years. Whether I was overseas racing or when I have been racing all over Australia they have been there, so it’s good to be able to race at home and they can come out and enjoy the experience with me.

What are your expectations going into the weekend – one race at a time or keeping an eye on the championship standings?

It’s pretty basic, my attitude is to take pole position and get three race wins on Sunday. I think if I do that it puts pressure on Wayne and boosts my chances of winning the championship. There is no real equation to it – I have to ride hard and put pressure on Wayne and Jamie and hopefully just get some more wins!

Tell me about the last few rounds. How are you feeling about how you are riding and how you approach the next two rounds being a serious contender?

It would have been nice if I could have been a bit better at the start, but having the year off, I knew I’d be a bit rusty. Now I am where I’d expect to be and as you said, it’s a bit of a bummer about the crash in race two, but overall I made a big improvement and the team made a big improvement. So I am just happy to go into the next two rounds as a favourite and as a genuine title contender. It’s definitely a bit of a long shot but the position I am in is pretty simple; I’ve just got to win because there is no real equation to it. I have really got to win and rely on a little bit of bad luck from the guys in front which is needed now as the points are getting a little bit out there. If I just keep the pressure on you never know – I’ve made a mistake at Winton in race two, and there’s no reason the other guys won’t make a mistake from here on out.

Image: Keith Muir.

As you’ve improved as the series has gone on, do you feel like people are looking at you differently as more of a target?

For sure it shifts and changes. You always want to have a look at the faster guys and I was the same at the start of the year – there were a lot more fast guys for me to look at at the first round at Wakefield – I was a little bit rusty and I always said that I wanted to work my way into it. You always seem to sus out the faster guys to see what they are doing and I am sure being my home track and coming off a few wins at Wakefield there will be guys having a bit of a look. It’s all fun and it’s a confidence booster to know that the guys are watching me.

Tell me what it is like to be on a four-man team and being on a team that has so much talent.

It’s very interesting to say the least. Riding with Josh and Jamie and Wayne, they’re all guys that think that they can win on any day and they can win on any day. We’re riding on the best team out there and the team expects a lot from us. For me personally coming into it there wasn’t really any pressure. I came in late and I was just added to the team. For sure you feel like you always want to be the fastest guy on your team, it’s just that now I am in a really competitive team, so it’s definitely getting interesting that my two main title competitors happen to be my teammates. In all honestly we get along great, we all race hard and we all trust each other on the track so it always makes for a good race.

Do you think that coming in late there is an intensified pressure on you and do you think the fact that they have another reason that they have to perform worries them?

I think that everyone on the team has their own agenda really and we are all there and hoping to stay for the future, or hold our names high and do well. Everyone wants to beat each other on the team, but I think on the other hand we gain a lot of confidence from each other as well. It’s not like there is a pit wall between us at all – we all work together an I hear what Wayne says to his mechanics, and Jamie and Josh, and they hear what I say as well and I think we all just sort of work together in the end. We work towards the same goal of being in the front, and we do talk to each other between races and stuff like that.

How are you finding the Australasian Superbike Championship?

My thoughts are all positive so far – I have really really enjoyed it. Like I have always said, the main thing for Australian racing is to have all the best riders on the same grid and we have achieved that this year. Everyone is really enjoying it – it is quite cheap to run a bike in this series which is great. The live to internet feed is working really well and a lot of people are watching it, so so far it’s been all positive. As for the future I think the ASC is going to stay.