Words: Supplied

Reigning Australian Superbike champion Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda Racing) is out for redemption in the opening round of the 2019 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on 22-24 February.

Returning as a WorldSBK wildcard for the second year in succession to the Yamaha Finance round, the soon-to-be 32-year-old says the difficulties he and his team had in 2018 serve as motivation to really get amongst it in the star-studded field.

“The original plan was to do a WorldSBK wildcard in my second year with Deon [Coote], but we got a bit excited and jumped straight in the deep end last year,” said Herfoss, who was raised in Goulburn but now lives at Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast. “As a result, we were underdone but on the flipside we learnt a lot of things which we can bring to the table in 2019.”

“The whole team have put in a lot of effort to build a bike that’s capable of running a lot further up the field. We know we are going to be competitive with a more complete package and a wealth of knowledge that we gained last year.

“If I can get the bike fully up to speed I want to be in that 8-12 group pace – and who knows what can happen after that once tyre life and all those variables come into play.”

Herfoss is particularly looking forward to the new WorldSBK ‘triple treat’ formula, which will make its debut at Phillip Island with a 10-lap sprint race at midday on Sunday, sandwiched between the traditional pair of 22-lappers at 3pm on Saturday and Sunday.

“The sprint race is a similar distance to the ASBK races, so it’s something that I’m used to,” said Herfoss. “It’s a great concept and is certainly going to make for a hot pace – it’s going to be interesting to see how it all pans out.”

The opening round of the 2019 ASBK title will also be held alongside the WorldSBK round, but Herfoss is unfazed by the double duties. He said: “I enjoy racing the world championship and ASBK class at Phillip Island, and I deal well with the physical and mental pressures. It really helps me get into a groove.”

In total, 13 races will be held at Phillip Island across Saturday and Sunday, with supersport and production 300 the other two national classes supporting the world championship categories: WorldSBK and WorldSSP. Goulburn teenager Tom Toparis is the Aussie wildcard in WorldSSP – and just like Herfoss is backing up from 2018. Toparis was 15th in last year’s WorldSSP race on a Kawasaki, but will be riding a Yamaha in 2019.

Yamaha Motor Finance (YMF) and Yamaha Motor Insurance (YMI) have repositioned their support for the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) by redirecting its sponsorship behind the series’ feeder categories.

The YMF/YMI partnership will continue into 2019 with the Yamaha Motor Insurance Australian Supersport 300 Championship and their return to the Yamaha Motor Finance R3 Cup/

Providing ideal stepping-stones into the larger classes, the two feeder categories will continue to produce exciting, elbow-to-elbow racing as the ultimate support act during selected rounds of the 2019 ASBK season.

“We support the philosophy of encouraging youngsters into the sport so they can step up through the R-family range and become a Yamaha customer for life,” said Yamaha Motor Australia director and COO Brad Ryan.

“Yamaha Motor Finance offers packages that gets riders onto an R3 Cup bike with minimal hassle. Finance is often a barrier for young racers to fulfil their potential, we want Australian riders to know that help is not far away.”

Motorcycling Australia CEO Peter Doyle commented: “Having a relatively low-cost pathway for young riders to learn is so important for the growth of motorcycling in Australia, and it’s only with the support of companies like YMF/YMI that we are able to bring young talent through the ranks.”

The ASBK heads to Phillip Island in Victoria this weekend for the first and only official pre-season test, with the opening round set to take place at the venue on 21-24 February in conjunction with the FIM Motul Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK).

SB Motorsports and Suzuki Motorcycles Australia will form a new-look SB Motorsports Suzuki Ecstar Race Team for the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals and Australian Supercross Championship, the Victorian operation has confirmed.

The squad will field 2017 MX Nationals MXD champion Cody Dyce in the premier class for his maiden outdoor campaign in MX1, while Josh Brewster will pilot the all-new 2019 RM-Z250 in MX2 as a potential third rider is still to be determined.

“This is a big year for me stepping up to the MX1 class” Dyce explained. “I am excited to be working with Suzuki and the SB Motorsports team to have the opportunity to show everyone what I can do on the RM-Z450 against the best riders in the country.”

The new partnership with Suzuki and its genuine oil Ecstar is an exiting new platform for team manager Scott Brewster, which will see the outfit navigate its support through local dealerships Byrners Suzuki and Vern Graham Suzuki.

“It’s a great fit for us to be partnering with Suzuki for 2019,” Brewster commented. “We were searching for a partner to represent and grow a relationship with long-term, and Suzuki has been great to work with over the off-season creating this program, offering us a great platform through two of their largest dealerships to go racing this season.”

The opening round of the Pirelli MX Nationals is scheduled for 17 March at Appin in New South Wales, which commences the 10-round series that will be hosted over eight weekend.