“It’s refreshing to ride a new bike,” is what former Goulburn resident Troy Herfoss said about piloting the all new Crankt Protein Team Honda Racing CBR1000RR SP2 machine at a shakedown test at Winton Motor Raceway last Monday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
For the past three years and the first three rounds in this year’s Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK), Herfoss has been racing the ‘older’ Honda CBR1000RR SP machine, which came out in 2014.
It goes without saying, Herfoss and his Victorian Motologic based team were a tad excited to get their hands on this new Honda CBR1000RR SP2 and convert it into ‘race trim’.
“My crew chief Shaun Clarke, Team Owner Paul Free, and the entire Crankt Protein Honda Racing team and associated sponsors have been waiting for a new bike for a long time and are all excited about it,” Herfoss told the Goulburn Post.
The conditions at Winton Motor Raceway on Monday were terrible in regards to the early morning fog and the low track temperatures, which did cost Herfoss a little bit of valuable track time.
However once the 30-year-old did manage to get out on track and put in a solid bunch of test runs on the new bike, he later expressed that it was really cool to feel what traction control and wheelie control was.
“I have a whole load of buttons to play with on the left hand handle bar,” said Herfoss, I can change traction control levels amongst other parameters whilst on track, so it’s just all about learning at the moment.
Herfoss currently sits in third place in the Australian Superbike Championship, tied on 130-points with Yamaha Racing Team’s Wayne Maxwell.
The most important thing about the Honda CBR1000RR SP2 is it all works really practically. The engine feels strong, which has been something the team have been anticipating.
Herfoss did explain that he and the team didn’t go to Winton to try and go fast. It was strictly just to ride the bike and make sure everything worked correctly.
“We will now head to Hidden Valley Raceway in a few weeks’ time for the next round of the ASBK to see how the bike really goes against the best in Australia.”
Road going Honda CBR1000RR SP2 vs the race going Honda CBR1000RR SP2
In early May this year, Herfoss got to sample the road going version of the Honda CBR1000RR SP2 at the Phillip Island Grand Circuit when Honda Motorcycles Australia had its official launch for the Australian motorcycle media.
When Herfoss was asked what the difference was between the road going bike and his race bike was, he openly admitted and said “It was hard to say.”
“What you buy from your local Honda dealership is so close to what we race. We have a touch more power, but in terms of electronic wise there is no difference.
Everyone can go and buy the same bike I have ridden at Winton and will race for now on.”