Image: Russell Colvin.

Penrite Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss has earned yet another stunning overall victory in the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Champion (ASBK) today at Morgan Park’s fifth round in Queensland.

Championship leader Herfoss extended his lead following a hard-fought victory in race one, overcoming a determined Troy Bayliss (DesmoSport Ducati) on the penultimate lap. It was Herfoss who led the field away from pole position, however a sizeable crash two laps in involving Josh Cavenagh (Kawasaki) saw a short race stoppage.

A 14-lap restart was then put in place and from that point it was on, with Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team) leading the opening two laps, only for Bayliss to come storming through. It appeared the triple world champion would power away at that point, posting a new lap record of 1m13.015s, but a calculated Herfoss put the pressure on and made his move on lap 13.

That’s how they remained, Herfoss winning by 1.083s over Bayliss and Maxwell, who in turn held reigning champion Josh Waters (Team Suzuki Ecstar) at bay for position. Daniel Falzon (Yamaha Racing Team) filled the top five, followed by impressive privateer Matt Walters (Swann Insurance Kawasaki), Bryan Staring (Kawasaki BCperformance), Corey Turner (Honda), Alex Phillis (Suzuki) and top rookie Glenn Scott (GSR Kawasaki).

Notable non-finishers included Kyle Buckley (Kawasaki BCperformance) and Arthur Sissis (SA Demolition & Salvage Honda), with Mark Chiodo (Team Suzuki Ectar) credited 21st following a crash in the mid-stages.

A nail-biting second Superbike battle was won by Herfoss in another commanding performance, pulling a 0.729s advantage at the conclusion of 16 laps. Race two once again featured Bayliss leading from the front, setting the pace over the opening 12 laps until the ever-patient Herfoss climbed from fourth into the lead by lap 13.

He also registered a new lap record of 1m12.645s – the fastest-ever Superbike lap of Morgan Park – while making his charge toward the front. Second this time around was the resurgent Waters, comfortably ahead of Maxwell. Bayliss, like in Darwin’s second race, ran off the track in the latter stages, demoting him from second on track down to fourth and that’s where he would remain, still well ahead of Falzon in fifth.

Staring improved to sixth this afternoon, beating home Walters, Turner, Collins and Ryan Yanko (Ducati). It was a disastrous round for Sissis in his first ride aboard the Honda, crashing out in the mid-stages.

The round victory belonged to Herfoss ahead of Waters and Bayliss – that pair tied on points for today. In the championship Herfoss now leads by 44.5 points entering Winton’s penultimate round of the series between 7-9 September in Victoria.

Detailed results