Image: Foremost Media.

Reigning Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike champion Troy Herfoss is anticipating a share of uncertainty on Sunday in round two of the 2019 series at Wakefield Park after the front row was split by just 0.085s.

While Yamaha’s Cru Halliday took pole position with a record-braking 57.138s ahead of Wayne Maxwell (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Herfoss today, it remains unclear who of the trio will be strongest over race distance.

Herfoss, who originates from Goulburn, has proven the king of Wakefield Park by winning every ASBK overall at the venue since 2016 and a fourth-consecutive ‘home’ win would be a remarkable feat at the conclusion of tomorrow’s two 20-lap races.

“The front row is really important here,” Herfoss told CycleOnline post-qualifying. “I mean, I would rather be on pole position, but the inside is probably a little bit safer going into turn one. Getting a few clear laps is the main thing.

“Guys passing each-other at the beginning of the race stretches everyone out, so if I can get away with Cru and Wayne – they’ve both got really good pace – that would be nice. We’ll see what happens after five or six laps, because I haven’t really seen anyone do a lot of laps in succession.

“I’m unsure of what tyre they were on in qualifying and how good they’re going to be after half-race distance, so the first race will be really interesting I think. You’ve got to ride your own race around here, because if you get sucked in with somebody else you can make a few mistakes around here.

“I know what I can do for the race, physically and with the bike, so if we can make a few improvements in warm-up I believe my pace is as good as the next guy’s. It’s then going to be a matter of being able to make passes when you can in the race.”

Wakefield Park has been on the Penrite Honda Racing team’s radar as an ideal location for Herfoss to regain points in the title-race, currently sixth after a lacklustre opening round at Phillip Island in February to begin his title defence.