Image: Russell Colvin.

Recently-crowned champion Troy Herfoss endured a difficult ending to his campaign in the 2018 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) at Phillip Island on Sunday, finishing off the podium for the first time this season.

The Gold Coast-based talent clinched the title at Winton’s penultimate round last month, although the two-time ASBK champion wasn’t able to capitalise on a pressure-free weekend at the Island.

The Penrite Honda Racing rider’s opening encounter was hindered after being pushed wide into turn one, resulting in a fight through the field to ultimately claim sixth, while his woes continued in the final affair when his footpeg worked its way loose, forcing him to salvage 13th for eighth overall.

“It was a tough one to swallow with a bit of bad luck throughout the weekend,” Herfoss admitted. “We showed a lot of potential in certain areas, even though it looked like we had a rough go of it. The ideal lap in race one was in the low 1m32s, so I had a bit of pace, but I just got pushed into turn one and ran wide.

“Race two, I just didn’t get going. On the warm-up lap I realised my footpeg was going to fall off, so I just rode around to show that I wasn’t going to give up and to finish the race. I’m really happy to win the Australian championship and I’m looking forward to my first ride with the number one plate! It’s been a fantastic season taking out five of seven rounds wins, which is a credit to the Penrite Honda Racing crew.”

Despite a frustrating end to the series, it’s been an incredible year for Herfoss, collecting five dominant overall victories with a number of race wins to his name. The 31-year-old will be back in action at Phillip Island later this month for the Superbike support race that will be hosted alongside the MotoGP World Championship round.