Features 25 Sep 2016

Cycle 360

An all-access Australian view of road racing, presented by Alpinestars.

This time next week we’ll be a few steps closer to knowing who will win the 2016 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli, when Winton’s final round takes place across the weekend.

The pace of Crankt Protein Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss at this week’s two-day official test was ominous, setting a new circuit best lap and going well fastest than what anybody has before by half a second or so.

Of course, the track has been resurfaced this year, but according to those in the know, Yamaha Racing Team’s recent private test on the venue didn’t result in the same kind of lap-times. Both title-leader Wayne Maxwell and teammate Glenn Allerton will have to rise to the occasion on race weekend.

If we think back to the Barbagallo round, Herfoss admitted at the time that he wasn’t even in the frame to win races on the aging CBR1000RR, forced to readjust his goals as a result. At that point Herfoss had been off the overall podium two rounds in a row, while Maxwell had two wins on the trot.

Image: Russell Colvin.

Image: Russell Colvin.

By the time the series arrived at Morgan Park for the penultimate round – a track many figured would suit the Honda – Pirelli had introduced a new SCX rear tyre to its ASBK allocation. And from there, Herfoss has essentially been untouchable ever since, now able to extract even more from the Fireblade’s supreme handling package.

It’s going to be an intriguing weekend and strategy will come into play, because no matter what type of lap speed Herfoss has at the moment, he will more than likely need a clear track ahead of him to utilise any major strengths. If the R1s (or anybody else) jump ahead in the early parts of the race, it could be more of a challenge.

But we can’t discount the likes of Dunlop-equipped Maxwell and Allerton matching or even bettering the pace of Herfoss when it counts. The much newer Yamaha showed how capable it was at Winton last year when Maxwell swept the Australasian superbikes, so it’s a case of waiting and seeing.

There are many other riders who will also be out to make their mark in the final round of 2016 as well – the likes of Daniel Falzon (JD Racing Yamaha), Mike Jones (DesmoSport Ducati), Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing Team), Brayden Elliott (Knobby Underwear Suzuki), Jamie Stauffer (Crankt Protein Honda Racing) and Ben Burke (SA Kawasaki BCperformance Kawasaki) if he races.

Only 23 points separates those six in the fight for fourth in the points, so they have plenty to play for themselves on Sunday. And believe me, a top five in the standings on paper is a lot more rewarding than anything otherwise.

Image: Russell Colvin.

Image: Russell Colvin.

And there there’s two-time ASBK champion Josh Waters, who will return on a privateer Yamaha YZF-R1. His appearance won’t be announced until Wednesday, which is why he was listed as Michael Jordan on the time-sheets. In fact, when we did the story on day one that he was riding, I was asked to take it down almost immediately by the team.

Taking part in an official test that media was specifically invited to attend means it’s impossible to hide the fact that you’re on track. And expecting those covering the sport to ignore a multiple national champion’s presence isn’t realistic – if it’s a top secret decision, don’t ride publicly.

Don’t get me wrong, I respect that sponsor commitments lean toward making the most of any announcement and I also understand that the team was probably generating some last-minute content to go along with the announcement during the test. But we’re not going to overlook the point that there’s a really competitive rider on a Yamaha wearing number 21 with a pseudonym on the timesheets.

We knew that Waters was on track at the recent Yamaha test as well, but since it was a private outing and I knew at the time that they weren’t ready to confirm his Winton entry, I held off on doing an article. Once he rode in the official test, it was fair game to advise our audience that he’s back. And I, for one, am really excited that he’s back.

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