Troy Herfoss
The last 20 months of Troy Herfoss’s life has been well documented. Any fan of Australian road racing will know the mountain he had to climb back to full health and fitness since that horrific crash at Darwin’s Hidden Valley in June 2021.
The old adage of ‘What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger‘ is extremely apt in the case of Herf. To a mere mortal onlooker, what he has put himself, and his family through, is almost incomprehensible. Many others would’ve given the game away.
It’s not only his personal health and fitness after being, basically, broken in two, but also his professional life. At the end of last season there was a chance that he may have even lost his ride. He wasn’t gelling with the bike and the situation was affecting his confidence, and that of the team.
Honda and Herfoss are synonymous with Australian Superbike racing, but the separation of the two was very much a distinct possibility at the end of last year.
Thankfully, after all the trials, tribulations, doubts and misgivings, Troy signed a new contract and is taking a new approach from a different direction and a mindset, and it seems that melting pot of new ideas is already paying dividends.
In 2023 ‘Herf’ will celebrate his 10th year with Honda.
It is a credit to him and a reflection of a burning inbuilt intensity to be a winner that he has come full circle and he has a real spring in his step as the year commences. It seems as though the ‘old Troy’ is back. More so, than when he returned to Darwin last year.
Regularly beating all the opposition is his job description and besides his mission of winning races, plus another championship, he wants to live in his opponents’ heads rent-free, 24/7. There are not too many more satisfying moments in life than when that can be achieved.
With the opening round of the 2023 ASBK season on the horizon, his timing – as he has shown when going for a balls-out, perfect pole position lap – is impeccable.
With two days of testing last week at SMSP, combined with the opening round of the Hartwell Club Championship at Phillip Island, last weekend with four races, against some pretty handy opposition, the preparation is paying dividends. He carded a pole position, two wins – one of them a 14-lapper. Combined with a PB race lap under his belt, Troy is primed, ready and waiting.
The lads in the Penrite team, led by Paul Free, are tight, and what has happened in the recent past has only made the bond more encompassing. They are just as keen to be a part of adding another championship to Troy’s tally.
Lack of motivation will never enter the equation. Nor his talent be questioned. And there is no doubt that he can win another Australian Superbike Championship.
The following interviews were conducted over two sessions; the first during the official ASBK test at SMSP and the second, a couple of days later, after the Hartwell Club round at Phillip Island
Mark Bracks: I remember at the GP last year, you were not a happy man. I’ve don’t think I have ever seen you like that. That seems put well in the past now, seeing what you did yesterday and the competitiveness and the consistency you are getting with the bike.
Troy Herfoss: “I needed help, and I needed some verification on what I needed help on, because it was a pretty shit year really. It’s hard when you’re struggling. It’s hard to trust anyone and these guys , they’re watching me ride around on a bike I used to win on, and now all of a sudden coming up with issues, it’s hard for anyone in the team to believe anyone really.
“So after MotoGP we got Josh to ride the bike and then we realised, let’s push on with what we’ve got.”
Bracksy: Paul [Free] said to me yesterday that you have gone back to – basically to put it in a nutshell – starting afresh as they were trying to make you adapt to the bike instead of adapting the bike to you.
Herfoss: “Yeah, so essentially you get to a point when you’re struggling that you become vulnerable, and I was lacking confidence, so I was sort of conceding ‘yeah I need to change what I’m doing’ and it wasn’t working for me. I couldn’t ride the bike how I wanted to. We basically finished off the year saying ‘screw it’. I thought ‘screw it’, I am essentially screwed anyway if I keep doing what I am doing, we went back to what worked for us in the past.
“It’s a funny time though; everyone thinks ‘electronic this and electronics that’, that you can’t ride the bike without riding the bike a certain way with electronics but anyway here we are.”
Bracksy: So what’s the big change? What have you done to the bike to allow you to be more comfortable with it.
Herfoss: “Basically, just made it slower really.”
Bracksy: So it’s not as “angry”?
Herfoss: “Yeah.”
Bracksy: So where was that? In the mid-range?
Herfoss: “When you look at the power delivery of the Honda, it’s got no mid-range. I had to start learning how to ride the bike higher in the mid-range, basically. The old bike was virtually a twin cylinder, really. It had so much bottom end you could ride it at 6-7000 revs, whereas this thing starts hitting the powerband at like 10,000 revs. Once I started gearing the bike a bit shorter so I am actually opening the throttle in that high rev power range that it’s got, and basically using traction [control] to catch me. That’s been the difference.”
Bracksy: So is it Charlie [team mechanic and data engineer] the one that’s been doing all the smoothing of the…?
Herfoss: “Yeah. We all work together. Charlie is reasonably green to it all. He’s got a lot of experience building engines and mechanically he’s really good at it, but he’s really passionate about the electronics. He came in at the start of last year and same thing, talk about being vulnerable, he was the new guy coming in, with all this talk of electronics we had to do and I had no confidence and no trust in it all but as the year went on Charlie has proved that he thinks really thoroughly about it, makes a lot of practical changes and now I’ve got complete trust in him. I don’t ask him a question now. He just trims a few things and I just press the buttons.
“He seems to be really enjoying it and he’s working really well with Paul, now. They’ve got a really good little team going there. Paul is concentrating on the chassis stuff and overlooking what Charlie does and they’re working together and learning together.”
Bracksy: From what I can gather from Paul it looks like that they are very compatible with each other, as Paul said ‘I’m old school, I’ll talk to the rider and his experiences as a rider and working on bikes, the go an check the data, instead of what is becoming more prevalent around the world is that the data is telling the people what to do, but not putting the faith in the rider by what he feels in the seat of his leathers.
Herfoss: “I think the recipe that Paul has got is the way of the future. The electronics are important, and you need it to go fast, especially over a race distance, but at the end of the day we learn just as much from sitting down having a chat without a computer, but you do need the electronics. The way we do it now; I have a chat with Paul, we take some notes, Charlie sits there and goes through the computer as we take notes down and looking at what we are talking about and verifies to Paul ‘yes or no’ what is happening. It’s pretty simple really. It’s complicated to look at the screen, but it’s pretty simple really.”
Bracksy: What about Shannon [Etheridge]?
Herfoss: “Shannon has a lot of experience around the world. He works for Triumph developing their electronics. [as have a few other Aussies over the years]. He’s a good guy. I grew up racing with him. He’s heading back to Europe for the season, and we thought it would be a good chance to be a middle-man with Paul, and Charlie to help that connection and how they translate stuff to each other. Paul is teaching him a little bit about the internals of shocks and forks and he’s helping Paul with a bit of electronic stuff. I’m sure in the future Shannon will be moving home and hopefully this is a good stepping stone to find a good job in the paddock, somewhere.”
Bracksy: Now back to you. Your head space. How much has that changed since all this has happened in the last couple of months and you haven’t been doing that much riding, either
Herfoss: “Nah, I have just been getting strong and fit and welcome to 2023. You saw what happened yesterday when I I rolled out and was able to be fastest from the first session. *With a chuckle* It was very frustrating last year as it got to the point where people just didn’t think I wasn’t any good, but yeah…”
Bracksy: Was that you thinking that, because I have never thought that. I don’t think anyone n the paddock thinks that
Herfoss: “They say that…”
Bracksy: Well put them on the same bike.
Herfoss: “The way people talk to you, you just know the feeling but anyway we are here now and I am looking forward.”
Bracksy: Does that make you more determined to shut their mouth?
Herfoss: “I don’t care about shutting their mouth, when I eventually finish racing I want people to know I was a top rider and winning rider. What I went through in the last 12 months, Bracksy, I’m happy to say, I’d be very surprised if any rider in this paddock would be riding now, I’d be very surprised.”
Bracksy: So with the recovery rate and what you had to put in… Was it mental as well as physical?
Herfoss: “Think about going into a fence at 200 k an hour and nearly losing your life. And sitting in a wheelchair for a few months with a three-month-old baby and full time care from your in-laws and your wife, and then you tell them you want to keep racing. It’s a big commitment. We’ve seen guys have lesser injuries and never be competitive again, so last year I played it down a lot, and to be honest, playing it down almost cost me my job because people thought I was ok.
“The reality is you are starting to see what I should be like now. I rolled out yesterday at this first test, I’ve had a few night meetings and I was fastest by a long way in the first session so… You don’t lose talent. I can still ride a motorbike, I just need the opportunity to prove myself.”
Bracksy: So is your head space back to what it was pre-accident time?
Herfoss: “Yeah. I am 100 per cent there to win. You saw at Tailem Bend, I wasn’t in the championship fight, so I rode to win the race and I crashed, but I am still the same person. I am going to fight like a dog until the last corner.”
Bracksy: How many years have you got in you, you reckon?
Herfoss: “I didn’t think I had too long until Troy Bayliss made a comeback and how fit he got. If I can stay fit like that I think, as long as I’ve got my nerve, I’ll keep racing for a few more years yet.
Bracksy: What do you do for mind fitness?
Herfoss: “We’ve all got our own processes. That’s my own thing. That’s how you win races, so I am not telling you nothing! Haha.”
Bracksy: A bit late to be worried about me *laughs*.
Herfoss: “Not you mate, not you. Anyway, I gotta get ready to go out. I’m on in 20 minutes. Thanks, Bracksy.”
Bracksy: No. Thank you, Herf.
Here’s the follow up after I spoke to Troy at the conclusion of the Hartwell Club meeting with four races under his belt and his fastest ever race lap of the 4.45km track – a new benchmark to improve upon.
Mark Bracks: Troy Herfoss, two days in Sydney which has been pretty good. I know it wasn’t huge competition here at the Hartwell round, but there was Broc Pearson, Ted Collins and Bryan Staring. You played the game really well, got a couple of victories, and getting the bikes with that best ever race time; 1:32.3, about half-a-second off the lap record, in not the best conditions?
Troy Herfoss: “I’m not complaining about the track conditions, it was windy yesterday, the track was cold and grippy this morning, but the track always has lots of grip in the cold. Honestly, such a good two days for me. To go to Sydney and be really fast on day one, to come here pretty much setting PBs.
“I didn’t race the races, I came here to help me, not help anyone else. If I had raced the races as I would normally race, the big winners would have been Broc and Bryan.
“Bryan is on a new bike, and Broc loves to follow and gets a big benefit out of it. So I just sat well back and done my own thing. In the last race we even started in pit lane.”
Bracksy: That’s where you went, I was looking at the grid spot saying “where is he?”
Herfoss: “I just did my own thing, I’m here to test, and here for me. Not for anyone else. I’m here for my benefit and we’re leaving here so confident that we’ve made a huge step forward. I’m a genuine contender, I went to Sydney and rolled out onto a track I hadn’t been to in a while and was fast straight away. Had we raced that night, I would have been racing for a win.
“I’m leaving here with better pace than I had for World Superbike last year and I was a few tenths off getting a podium back then. I believe I’ve got the pace now to at least follow the fastest guys on the tack, with where we are now. If I really hang it out, I think I can follow, and after five laps the race is on. No one in this field in this country can do lap record pace after five or six laps at Phillip Island. It’s not possible yet. The tyres don’t allow it. So we’ve ticked all boxes really, I’m really happy.”
Bracksy: So now the bike is for you, instead of you for the bike?
Herfoss: “Look, let’s get it clear, last year I was really vulnerable. So, I accepted that I needed to change, towards the end of the year when my ride was on the line and I’m essentially staring down the barrel of losing my ride, I made the decision, I’m going to ride the bike how I want to ride it and let’s see what we can do with that. And Paul was completely on board with that, because we’ve changed a lot, but we’ve ended up back where I used to like the bike. Now thanks to Paul and Charlie and Shannon, I’m actually riding the bike comfortably. Really consistently.”
Bracksy: Shannon seems to have settled in well for the short time he’s been with the team.
Herfoss: “Shannon has been a huge benefit. He is excellent with the telemetry and he has even been helping me with my riding as well, as he analyses all the data and compares that to what we are talking about. We’ve known each other since we were kids, racing against each other, so there’s a great connection there.”
Bracksy: You’ve got the power delivery the way you want it?
Herfoss: “No, the power delivery on the bike is really frustrating, but we’ve got it to a point where we can use it to the advantage.”
Bracksy: So, still plenty of room for improvement?
Herfoss: “I’m sure there always is, but right now I’m ready to roll out the bike and race at Phillip Island. I’m not going to be the fastest qualifier, but sure as hell going to be fighting at the end of the race.”
Bracksy: Going to Sydney next week for the St. George Night Series?
Herfoss: “Not sure yet, I have a baby due soon. If I do it’ll be a quick trip.”
Bracksy: When is Emily due?
Herfoss: “Just before the race, she was a few weeks early last time and let’s pray she’s a few weeks early this time. A little girl, so a house full of girls.”
Bracksy: You’ll be well and truly outnumbered! It was good to see you and so very good that everything is shaping up.
2023 ASBK Calendar
| 2023 ASBK Calendar | |||
| Round | Circuit | Location | Date |
| Test | Sydney Motorsport Park | NSW | Feb 1-2 |
| R1 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | VIC | Feb 24-26 |
| R2 | Sydney Motorsports Park | NSW | Mar 24-25 |
| R3 | Queensland Raceway | QLD | Apr 28-30 |
| R4 | Hidden Valley Raceway | NT | Jun 16-18 |
| R5 | Morgan Park Raceway | QLD | Jul 14-16 |
| R6 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | VIC | Oct 27-29 |
| R7 | The Bend Motorsport Park | SA | Dec 1 – 3 |
