Easing into Friday practice, Herfoss and the team worked through each session, where timesheets read 1:05.674 (P4) in FP1, 1:05.386 (P1) in FP2 and 1:05.597 (P4) in FP3, setting a nice pace rolling into Saturday.
Herfoss qualified third with a 1:05.108, securing a front-row spot for racing later that day.
As temperatures climbed, Race 1 saw Herfoss charge through 16 laps hunting to close the gap for 1st but falling short, where he settled for 2nd.
Sunday was an early start for the team with track activity kicking off at 8.30 am, offering cooler temperatures for riders on the track leading into Race 2. Herfoss got a reasonable start and made the best of it to stay up front. After a track run-off from leader Waters, a battle ensued between Jones and Herfoss to take the lead. The Honda got the jump and Herfoss took the win for the team.
That winning momentum followed the team into Race 3, as Herfoss got a flying start and lead the race (almost for its entirety.) Ultimately, taking the race win and the overall round win.
Deon Coote, Penrite Honda Racing team owner and Director of Elite Roads:
“The weekend started full of confidence, the bike was dialled in to deal with the physical and hot conditions that we aren’t used to racing in. After the first race, there was a bit of controversy with the team being protested over a part on the bike but it was proven to be a standard part and compliant with the rules. This fuelled our motivation to prove we are the winning team, as we controlled and won the next two races. A big thanks to Penrite Racing for being so accommodating this weekend to our team and allowing us to work out of their garages during sessions. I’m so happy for the team and we can't wait for the next round at Morgan Park.”
Troy Herfoss:
“Seems like forever ago that we did our indigenous livery launch, which was a huge success, and we really enjoyed working with the Penrite Racing team on that. The weekend went really well for us, we were fast in all sessions and I'm so happy, apart from a mistake in session two on Friday in practice with a crash but we rebounded and qualified in the front row in third. Fought really hard for second place in race one, we just weren't quite fast enough but we managed to make a few changes and we had a really good pace for races two and three. I'm most happy that I was able to control the race from the front in race three. Between Paul and Charlie, the bike handled physically easy and I was able to ride the bike in the way I wanted to. We are definitely in the Championship hunt now! It's now in our control, we don't need luck from any other riders to get into the points game, we just need to focus on ourselves. Looking forward to the next one!"