Penrite Honda Racing press release:
Penrite Honda Racing and Troy Herfoss are celebrating their victory in the 2018 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK), despite enduring a string of bad luck in the seventh and final round at Phillip Island, Victoria.
Qualifying in fifth position with a lap-time 1m33.003s, Herfoss – who earned the crown at Winton’s penultimate round last month – targeted an improved result in race one. Being pushed wide into turn one didn’t help the 31-year-old’s cause, resulting in him fighting through for P6 in the 12-lap encounter.
Eager to make amends in race two, Herfoss’ woes unfortunately continued as he was forced to manage a rare malfunction as his footpeg worked its way lose. Being the champion that he is, the Gold Coast-based two-time ASBK champion pushed on to cross the line 13th, granting him eighth overall for the round.
“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.”
Penrite Honda Racing team owner Deon Coote of ER Motorsport said the team’s spirit hasn’t been dampened since the weekend’s misfortune, as they reflect on what has been incredible maiden season in the ASBK by collecting the premier class title along with five dominant overall victories.
“It’s been a dream start for ER Motorsport operating as Penrite Honda Racing together in 2018,” commented Coote. “We couldn’t have asked for anything more and it’s been enjoyable winning five out of the seven rounds. We had a bit of bad luck this weekend, but we’ll bounce back for the GP weekend in a couple of weeks.”
The Penrite Honda Racing outfit will next appear with Herfoss during Phillip Island’s Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix within the national Superbike support races in Victoria between 26-28 October.
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