Australian Motorcycle News - June 21, 2018

122 amcn.com.au

ASBK heads north for Rd4

Troy Herfoss looking to extend title lead in the Top End

ASBK

sport

AFTER TWO MONTHSin

hibernation, the Yamaha

Motor Finance Australian

Superbike Championship

makes the long trip north

to Darwin’s Hidden Valley

Raceway on 29 June-1 July.

The flowing 14-corner track

hasa1.1km-longstraightand

ridersloveheadingtothe

Northern Territory to turn it

on for fans.

In an incredibly tight

season so far, Penrite Honda

Racing’s Troy Herfoss will hit

theTopEndwitha19.5-point

championship advantage

andistheformrider,ahead

oflong-timerival,Yamaha

Racing Team’s Wayne

Maxwell.

Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Josh

Waters, who launched his title

assaultthistimelastyearby

producing a stunning double

victory,willbelookingtodo

thesamein2018.

Thereigningchamphas

surprisedmanybyremaining

winlessthisseason,andthe

pressure is on for a repeat

performanceof2017.

Alsoeagertohitthetop

stepforthefirsttimethisyear

will be Desmosport Ducati’s

Troy Bayliss. The three-time

World Superbike champ is

yet to claim an ASBK victory

but has threatened on several

occasions,needingonlythe

rightset-upoverracedistance

to break through.

Ahostofothersarein

contention, including last

year’s polesitter, Daniel

Falzon (Yamaha Racing

Team), and Bryan Staring

(Kawasaki BC Performance),

thelatterneedingtofind

the right set-up to tame his

Dunlop tyres.

The previous two rounds of

the Supersport category have

beendominatedbyYamaha

Racing’s Cru Halliday, with

the former Superbike winner

out to prove he deserves a

recall to the top category.

Max Croker (Mat Mladin

Racing)andTomToparis

(Cube Racing) lead the

charge of young guns and

Topariswillbedrawingonhis

recent World Supersport 300

experience to gain an edge on

Halliday, while Broc Pearson

makesawelcomereturnfrom

injury.

In Supersport 300, Victorian

Tom Bramich will be

challenged by Cube Racing’s

OliBayliss,whoshowedlast

year the smaller-capacity

Kawasaki can more than

handlethelargercapacity

bikes for outright speed.

MATT O’CONNELL

Championship leader

Troy Herfoss leads main

rival Wayne Maxwell

FTNC

Our picks

Troy Herfoss

Cru Halliday

Oli Bayliss

Young Aussie wins

three AMA titles

FORBES YOUNGSTER Tom Drane

was crowned the Youth Rider

of the Year after winning three

championship classes at the

2018 AMA Flat Track National

Championships.

Staged at the Illinois State

Fairgrounds, the four-day

event features the nation’s best

amateur f lat track talent racing

on three kinds of track – half-

mile, short track and TT.

The toughest opposition for

Drane in the 7 to 11 years age

bracket came from Gold Coast

rider Harrison Voight, with both

riders picking up standard 85cc

KTM machines in the US, which

they rode in both the DTX class

and the Modified class.

Drane also raced a 65cc

machine.

Drane took all three

championships, winning the

65cc DTX, 85cc DTX and 85cc

Modified classes.

Voight was second overall

in both 85cc classes, having

beaten Drane in the final of the

first short track event.

Another Queensland teenager,

Max Whale, also featured, with

wins on short track and half-

mile in the Pro Expert Singles

and Twins classes, which

were not part of the overall

championships.

PETER BAKER

Tom Drane was in

spectacular form

in the US titles

Preview