Herfoss takes charge at death

A BREATHTAKING manoeuvre from Honda’s Troy Herfoss at turn 11 on the final lap of the first Alpinestars Superbike race has seen him grab a win 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 stalking Maxwell for the entire 16-lap journey.

Both riders set new lap record times across the race before Herfoss made the racedefining 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 frontrow 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 recorded a scorching 1 minute 05.1 second lap time in qualifying to secure his second pole of the season.

And while he missed out on the race win, the Boost Mobile with K-Tech Ducati rider paid credit to Herfoss for his lastlap 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.’’

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.

“It’s been a massive effort by the team to build a brandnew bike, strip it down, install all the suspension and electronics,” Allerton said.

Oli Bayliss finished fourth, after earlier qualifying second.

He lost a few positions at the start, but worked his way back to third before again losing time with an off-track excursion.

A late qualifying crash meant third fastest qualifier Mike Jones missed the race.

Races 2 and 3 are set down for 10.50am and 2.05pm.