Penrite Honda Racing press release:

A thrilling end to the 2019 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) at Sydney Motorsport Park saw Penrite Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss finish just shy of the crown after a spirited effort today, earning runner-up honours following seven rounds.

Defending champion Herfoss displayed strong pace early on at the Eastern Creek-based venue, scoring a pivotal front-row starting position after qualifying in P2 with a time of 1m30.070s.

The 32-year-old Gold Coast resident put on an incredible display of riding during Sunday’s pair of 13-lap encounters, charging to second in race one to place himself just half a point away from the series lead entering the final race.

In a winner takes all affair, Herfoss laid it on the line in the final outing, with the round win and championship coming down to the final moments of the race. In the end, the multi-time champion was forced to accept second for P2 in the final standings as well.

“It’s not the result we came here to get, but we all did our best and put ourselves in the best position possible to win the championship,” Herfoss reflected. “We were so close in the end – down to the last few corners, really. I tried so hard to win it and I fought so hard in the last few laps, but I just couldn’t stay in front of him.

“Congratulations to Mike [Jones] and his team, but also to our team as well, because we did a really good job this weekend. We were really competitive throughout the round and I was the only one able to stay with Mike in both races. A big thank you to everybody at Penrite Honda Racing.”

It was a positive weekend for teammate Mark Chiodo, the Victorian charger qualifying in an impressive fifth before recording a consistent 7-6 scorecard for sixth overall at the finale. In just his second year in the premier class, Chiodo climbed to 10th in the standings.

“It was a good weekend,” said Chiodo. “We’ve shown some speed at some rounds this year, but we haven’t been able to put it together. This weekend was different though, we were quick in every session on Friday and Saturday we were really quick, but I expected the races to be tough. I still went 7-6, which was pretty good, and they’re two decent race results to finish the year.”

Penrite Honda Racing team owner Deon Coote praised the team’s efforts during the 2019 season, which marked a strong campaign for the outfit’s maiden year as a two-rider squad. It was also another glowing performance for the ER Motorsport-prepared CBR1000RR Fireblades.

“It was super exciting with the title coming down to the last race,” stated Coote. “The whole year was based on one race in the end, so it was definitely a nail-biter. Troy threw everything at it, but it wasn’t quite enough to get there in the end – they both rode amazing. Overall, it was a positive year for the team with Troy finishing second and Mark pushing his way inside the top 10.”