ASBK Superbike: Race Reports From RD4 At 2 + 4 Darwin

It was an exciting weekend for motor racing fans in Australia as the ASBK ran as a support series for the Supercars at Hidden Valley on the weekend. A breathtaking manoeuvre from Troy Herfoss at turn 11 on the final lap saw him take victory from long-time rival Wayne Maxwell at Darwin’s Hidden Valley circuit.

From fourth on the grid, a strong start saw Herfoss immediately moving up to second behind Maxwell off the line; the 34-year-old stalked Maxwell for the entire 16-lap journey, both riders setting lap record times, before Herfoss made the race-defining move on the last lap.

“It was such a fun race,” Herfoss said. “In qualifying, Wayne was so fast and with Mike (Jones) and Oli (Bayliss) also doing good times, we narrowly missed out on a front-row start, which was a little disappointing. There were stages during the race where I started to doubt myself, but I knew I had to play the patience game. Riding 16 laps in the heat is physically demanding, but I felt quite comfortable. I like going to races where fitness is one of the main factors, because I think it plays to my strengths.”

Earlier in the day, Maxwell had recorded a scorching 1:05.1 lap time in qualifying to secure his second pole position of the season. While he missed out on the race win, the Boost Mobile with K-Tech Ducati rider paid credit to Herfoss for his last-lap overtake.

“I covered Troy at turns five and six, and I tried to block the line into turn 11 – I went in there reasonably deep and tried to hang on the outside, but he was too good,” Maxwell said. “I was in a rhythm for most of the race, just trying to hit a lap time; the grip went away towards the end. I love it – I’m really happy, there are so many positives for us to take out of the race and we’ll try to improve a tiny bit for tomorrow morning.”

Glenn Allerton recorded his first podium for the year aboard his brand-new BMW M1000 R, also moving up to third in the championship. The two-time Australian Superbike Champion revealed he was managing an issue for much of the race with his new set-up.

“It’s been a massive effort by the team to build a brand-new bike, strip it down, install all the suspension and electronics,” Allerton said. “If this is our first race on it and we’re on the podium, it shows the potential is really high. The clutch was slipping really badly out of the last corner for a lot of the race and costing me a lot of time; I’m confident if we fix that issue for tomorrow, we’ll be right there with the top two.”

Oli Bayliss finished fourth, after earlier qualifying second; Bayliss lost a few positions at the start, but worked his way back up to third before again losing time with an off-track excursion. However, Bayliss’ day was more satisfactory than his DesmoSport Ducati team-mate Mike Jones, who was scheduled to start third but failed to make the grid after a late qualifying crash left him under observation in hospital.

Bryan Staring (Kawasaki BCPerformance) completed the top five, with Arthur Sissis (Yamaha), Anthony West (Yamaha), Josh Waters (Kawasaki), Jed Metcher (Yamaha) and Cru Halliday (Yamaha) completing the top 10. The other riders involved in dramas were Daniel Falzon and Corey Turner, who collided in the first corner; race direction have deemed Turner at fault for the altercation and imposed a relegation of three grid positions upon Turner for Race two.

ASBK Hidden Valley Race One Podium 

1 Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda)
2 Wayne Maxwell (Boost Mobile K-Tech Ducati)
3 Glenn Allerton (Maxima Oli Racing BMW)

Race 2&3
Troy Herfoss was involved in a terrifying high-speed accident at turn four on lap one, race two of the Alpinestars Superbikes at Hidden Valley on Sunday morning. The Racesafe medical chase car was immediately in attendance at the scene of the incident.

Herfoss is in a serious but stable condition, and was transported to Royal Darwin Hospital where it was revealed that he has badly broken his right humerus and femur. The two major bones will require surgery and we wish Herfoss a speedy recovery. The race was declared with no points awarded.

Spirits were higher for race three as rising star Oli Bayliss has defeated Wayne Maxwell in a nail-biting Ducati duel to snare his maiden race and round wins in the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship. 

In Race 3, a strong start from Bayliss allowed him to take the lead from Maxwell heading into the first corner, but Maxwell recaptured the top spot a couple of laps later. The two Ducati riders continued their contest until the race was red-flagged after four laps due to a crash involving Matt Walters and Corey Turner at the first corner. The race was restarted with eight laps remaining, Maxwell leading the field away. He and Bayliss each set times underneath Herfoss’ Saturday lap record as they pulled clear of the rest of the field.

A committed move from Bayliss into the first corner enabled him to take the lead two laps from home and he was able to withstand Maxwell’s pressure to secure a memorable first win in the Alpinestars Superbike class. A gracious Bayliss said his thoughts were with the riders involved in crashes over the weekend, including his DesmoSport Ducati team-mate Mike Jones.

“Unfortunately Jonesy and Troy had crashes, which is a shame because I know they would have been up there with us today,” Bayliss said. “I’m happy that something clicked with me and the team, and I’m sure that as the year goes on we can keep winning. After the red flag, my tyre grip didn’t feel the best and I had a feeling Wayne was in the same boat. As the race went on, I stayed behind him, worked out a place where I could pass him and tried to win the race from there.”

Another second-place finish for Maxwell saw the Boost Mobile with K-Tech rider extending his championship lead to 26 points. With Troys recovering looking to be a long one, Wayne will be looking to extend his lead as much as possible.

“Oli rode fantastic in Race 3, it was a terrific battle,” Maxwell said. “We had our back to the wall this weekend with some of our team members not able to be here, so to come away second for the round is very good for us. I feel for Troy, to see something like that happen to one of your best mates is awful, so I wish him all the best for a fast recovery.”

Glenn Allerton recorded another third-place finish in Race 3 and moved up to third in the standings.

“It’s been a great debut for our new BMW, it’s fantastic to finish on the podium even though we had some teething problems this weekend,” Allerton said. Once we’re able to test, I’m confident we’ll be competitive with the front-runners, there’s heaps of potential there.”

Bryan Staring brought his Kawasaki home fourth ahead of the Yamahas of Daniel Falzon, Aiden Wagner and Anthony West; the second Kawasaki BCPerformance entry of Josh Waters was eighth, with Cru Halliday and Jed Metcher completing the top 10 on their Yamahas.

Alpinestars Superbike – Top 10 Points after Hidden Valley

1 Wayne Maxwell – 132
2 Troy Herfoss – 106
3 Glenn Allerton – 100
4 Cru Halliday – 88
5 Oli Bayliss – 87
6 Bryan Staring – 87
7 Mike Jones – 74
8 Arthur Sissis – 71
9 Jed Metcher – 70
10 Josh Waters – 5