Penrite Honda Racing press release:

The 2018 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) resumes this weekend, 28 June-1 July at Hidden Valley Raceway in the Northern Territory, with Penrite Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss standing atop the points table entering round four of the season.

Following a lengthy mid-season break, 31-year-old Herfoss returns to Darwin aboard the race-winning CBR1000RR Fireblade, aiming to extend his advantage after charging to victory last time out in South Australia. That win has him 19.5 points ahead of his closest rival entering the Top End.

It’s been a busy period for the Gold Coast-based Herfoss, joining Penrite Honda Racing in a private test at Hidden Valley recently and then jetting off to Japan to test with the Honda Asia Dream Racing team at the famed Suzuka Circuit. As a result, he’s eager to make the most of his recent mileage when practice commences on Thursday afternoon.

“Everything is going really well and the test that we did here was a positive one,” commented Herfoss. “Although the track was pretty green, we got some good laps in and went faster than last year at the race. The bike’s feeling good, the team has been working hard and we feel as though we have a good direction for the start of the weekend, so hopefully we can hit the ground running.

“It will be a good weekend, it’s definitely a good track to go to and we’re going to enjoy the four days in Darwin. This round is especially important because a few guys are known to be really strong here, but I just want to go out and do my best to make sure we put a stamp on our championship lead.

“The test in Japan at Suzuka was an audition for the 8-hour that was organised by Honda Australia. I did a three-day test with the Honda Asia Dream Racing team and it all went well. I’ll be going back right after Darwin to do another test, so it looks like I’ll be ready to go for the race next month.”

Penrite Honda Racing team manager Shaun Clarke said the recent test was a positive one for Herfoss, enabling them to compare the current package with that debuted in Darwin last season. Despite less than ideal track conditions, Herfoss was able to lodge a series of fast laps that will set him up strongly for the round.

“We’re confident heading into this round following the test, even if the track was very dirty across the two days,” Clarke said. “Troy was consistently within a couple of tenths of the lap record and the track should be in a much better state following the recent Supercars round, so the lap times could be considerably faster this weekend.

“It was really good to come back to Hidden Valley, because this was our first round with the current bike last year and we have made a lot of progress since then. The bike is chalk and cheese compared to that point, so the lap times have improved and we are looking forward to going racing now.”

A single 55-minute Superbike practice session will take place on Thursday afternoon, before official practice begins on Friday with a trio of 30-minute sessions. Saturday will see two 30-minute qualifying sessions on track to determine the starting grid, followed by the pair of 18-lap Superbike races to be contested on race-day Sunday.

Catch all the action via Livestream at www.asbk.com.au throughout Sunday, with live television to be aired on SBS and Fox Sports that afternoon. Follow Team Honda Racing on Facebook, as well as @teamhondaracing on Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.