Image: Russell Colvin.

A private shakedown conducted by Penrite Honda Racing will serve as a significant boost for current Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) leader Troy Herfoss when practice commences this afternoon.

Round four in the Top End will feature an extended schedule with a single 55-minute practice session scheduled for Thursday, however a recent two days on track at Hidden Valley has Herfoss ready to go in Darwin.

“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.”

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.”

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. It’s all but confirmed that he will contest the Suzuka 8 Hours alongside Japanese championship newcomer Zaqhwan Zaidi.

“The test in Japan at Suzuka was an audition for the 8-hour that was organised by Honda Australia,” Herfoss added. “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.”