News 19 Mar 2017

Masterful Herfoss dominates ASBK race one at Wakefield

Slick tyre selection proves the right choice in dramatic affair.

Image: Keith Muir.

Crankt Protein Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss has stunned with a commanding victory in race one of the Yamaha Motor Insurance Superbikes at Wakefield Park after gambling to start from the rear of the grid using Pirelli slicks.

With a quickly-drying track and the drizzle clearing in Goulburn, select riders opted to pit and switch from wets dry slick tyres.

Herfoss swapped later than most, forcing him to start the warm-up lap from pit-lane and then start the race from the rear, but he swept to sixth on lap one and the lead by lap four.

From there he sprinted away to a 3.955s victory after cruising through the final lap, ahead of Robbie Bugden (Kawasaki BCperformance) and Josh Hook (Kawasaki) – both starting from their grid places on slicks. It was particularly impressive of Hook on his older generation ZX-10R after changing his own tyres on the grid.

Herfoss’ teammate Bryan Staring (Crankt Protein Honda Racing) rode to fourth despite a slow start, while privateer pairing Aaiden Coote (Kawasaki) and Adam Senior (Yamaha) starred on their way to fifth and sixth.

With a wet front and slick rear, Beau Beaton (Racers Edge Performance/McMartin Racing/North Coast V-Twins Ducati) rode to P7, while Yamaha Racing Team’s initial leader Wayne Maxwell was first of the all-wet runners from what we could see in eighth.

It was an eventual affair for Phillip Island winner Daniel Falzon (Caterpillar JD Racing Yamaha), who started on wets and then pitted for his dry bike by lap four, climbing all the way to ninth, while Jack Baker (Crazy Dogs Kawasaki) could be satisfied in rounding out the top 10.

Further down the order, Josh Waters (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was another to switch bikes in the mid-stages for 12th, while front-row starter Cru Halliday (IPONE/YMF/YMI Yamaha) struggled his way on wets to a lowly 17th.

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