Image: Russell Colvin.

Penrite Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss believes the potential is visible in his WorldSBK-spec CBR1000RR SP Fireblade after admittedly enduring two difficult days of testing at Phillip Island ahead of his wildcard appearance this weekend.

The reigning Australian champion had his race-prepared Fireblade pieced together at the ’11th hour’, forcing the Gold Coast-based talent to come to terms with the new machine within the available track time.

Struggling to find a base set-up, Herfoss wound up 19th on the timesheets during both days, however he’s upbeat that discovering a comfortable setting on Friday will result in competitive performances throughout the new three-race format.

“It was a tough couple of days, we had a completely new motorbike that we put together at the 11th hour,” Herfoss explained to CycleOnline.com.au. “We really spent the first day pretty much doing a shakedown, and to be honest, I struggled a lot on the second day to find a base setting.

“We haven’t had lift off yet, but there’s a fair bit of potential with the bike. We’re still pretty eager to get out there on Friday and make some big improvements. It’s tough on track when you’re struggling in that sort of field, you feel like you’re spending more time looking over your shoulder making sure no one runs into the back of you, let alone making laps.

“Everyone is so professional in field, and they’ve all got a job to do, so they’re all working hard. It’s just a matter of getting out and getting some free track time. The goal is to feel good on the bike, and I think if I can do that, I can be competitive.

“At the moment we just need make sure I’m comfortable and move on from there. Obviously, the field is much more competitive than last year, and the field is really close and the lap times are really fast.”

Herfoss will take on double duties this weekend as round one of the Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) runs in conjunction with the WorldSBK.