Image: Foremost Media.

Numerous dynamics have shifted for Troy Herfoss in 2022, the Penrite Honda Racing rider admitting significant crew changes have been ‘the hardest thing’ to work through in seeking a refreshed direction.

Herfoss had worked closely with former factory team owner Paul Free for the majority of his stint with Honda, however, Free moved to the newly-formed 727 Moto Yamaha team in the off-season.

In addition to longstanding duo Glenn Granger and Ian Collier, this year sees Charlie Hallam join the program, plus longtime Suzuki team manager Phil Tainton has been reunited with Herfoss – the pair winning the 2010 national Supersport title together – to assist with chassis development.

“At the moment, that’s the hardest thing,”Herfoss told CycleOnline when queried on the exit of Free and arrival of new people. “Paul and I worked good, we had a lot of success together and we knew he was leaving – he didn’t just up and leave – because he gave us plenty of notice.”

Herfoss continues to recover from his crash in Darwin last June, which has affected his body position on the bike, plus the ER Motorsports team also opted to return to Pirelli tyres at the 11th-hour following two seasons working with Michelin.

On the switch from Michelin to Pirelli tyres, Herfoss – the only Honda and Michelin rider to be able to achieve an ASBK podium in recent years – cited during the race weekend that the move has made it ‘easier now to compare directly to our competition’.

“We didn’t ride a bike all that time [after the injury] and now I’ve come back, I don’t know what I want because my body is hurting, I’ve got no one else to compare to on a Honda and we’ve changed tyres… there’s all that stuff,” he continued.

“We are just ticking boxes at the moment and it is frustrating at certain stages of the weekend because you want to go faster, but there is a lot of different stuff happening. It’s been so nice having Phil Tainton here for a whole weekend.”

After Herfoss’ horrendous accident that resulted in multiple hip surgeries, the way in which the number 17 rides the bike has shifted, and accordingly, he’s been forced to change certain ergonomics on the CBR1000RR-R to accommodate his body now.

“I haven’t really spoken about my body and the bike, but I’ve got 50mm risers on the bars now and my body doesn’t work the same as what it did,” Herfoss added. “People say, ‘why don’t you put the old set up in it?’. I tried that and it didn’t work because my body isn’t strong now enough right now.”

Considering the vast experience of Tainton, it is expected the team will endeavour to retain him for the entire eight rounds to play a key role in fast-tracking Herfoss back onto the podium. Herfoss notably debuted in the premier class with Tainton aboard a GSX-R in 2011.

“Deon [Coote] rang and asked me on a few occasions, but I tried to convince him I was retired from it… [laughs],” Tainton explained. “I still miss it, naturally, and I felt for Troy because he’s such a lovely guy, so I said I’ll come and do a test and help you.

“It started at a test day and ended up here. I don’t know where it wants to go from here, but I’m trying to do what I can to learn the bike, the tyres and the suspension. The tyres I know now, but as for the suspension and the Honda, I’m learning.

“It’s good fun, I just hope I can do some good for him and get him where he needs to be. I’ve committed to my family that I would spend some weekends with them, so I said if it doesn’t clash with something and they want me I’ll go, other than that I’ll stay at home.”

The two-time Australian Superbike champion Herfoss finished 13th overall at round one following an underwhelming 11-13 scorecard, but sits just eight points behind championship favourite and arch-rival Wayne Maxwell (Boost Mobile Ducati), who crashed out of the lead in race one before winning the second encounter.