Australia will have four riders racing as wildcard riders at the Phillip Island WorldSBK season opener next month and the charge is being led by former domestic champions Wayne Maxwell nd Troy Herfoss.
Herfoss, who now races for Team Honda , and Yamaha Racing Team’s (YRT) Wayne Maxwell will be joined by a new rider for the 2018 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK), Daniel Falzon.
“Riding in the World Superbike Championship is without a doubt what I have been striving for and I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead," said Herfoss, who finished third in last year’s ASBK series.
“Everyone within the team is really excited about the possibilities ahead and hopefully we can be somewhere in the mix for a positive result. The WorldSBK field is full of world class riders but it will be a great opportunity to show what we are capable of,” concluded the 2016 Australian Superbike champion.
For Maxwell, who enters his fourth year with YRT, says that the opportunity to represent Yamaha Racing Team amongst the WorldSBK field is a great boost for him and the Queensland-based team.
“The team have always wanted to become involved in WorldSBK and now that opportunity has become a reality,” said Maxwell, who has raced as a wildcard, but in the World Moto2 Championship at the 2010 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
Maxwell’s YFF-R1M should be pretty similar to ASBK spec with minor alterations to make it fit for WorldSBK completion.
“If we do have one advantage it is that we know Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit very well and it’s not out of the question that a top 15 or higher result may be possible if we put in a good performance,” finished Maxwell.
The past several months have been exciting for 23-year-old Falzon, who resides in Adelaide, South Australia.
Falzon, who won the 2012 Australian Superstock 600 and 2013-14 Australian Supersport Championship was announced in early December that he would ride for the factory Yamaha team and now with the news about him racing as a wildcard rider has been a dream come true for him.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to compete on the world stage and any experience we can gather from this opportunity will be valuable as we contest the 2018 ASBK season,” said Falzon, who won the opening round of the Australian Superbike Championship at Phillip Island last year by taking a 1-1-1 result.
“I’ve very accustomed to the Yamaha YZF-R1 package after racing it for several seasons and the bike we are racing as a WorldSBK wildcard will be very similar to what we’ll be riding in ASBK.”
17-year-old Tom Toparis will be the one and only Aussie wildcard rider in the WorldSSP Championship, riding for the Cube Racing team, which he has raced with since making his road racing debut in 2016.
Toparis, who hails from Goulburn, New South Wales were going pretty fast around the 4.445km seaside circuit at last year’s final round of the Australian Supersport Championship, which was one of the reasons why he and the team decided to race as a wildcard rider.
“After the team and I did the Moto3 wildcard last year in October in Japan and Australia, we thought we would give the World Supersport wildcard ago,” said Toparis.
“World Supersport is of course a lot different to Moto3. World Supersport is much so closer in terms of Australian Supersport compared to Moto3 or Moto2, so we should have a better understanding on how everything works.”
Toparis, who finished third in last year’s Australian Supersport Championship does realize that he can’t really say or put himself in a position and say where he would like to finish, as the World Supersport field is so strong with an army of very experienced riders.
Just being on track with the world guys, who are all circulating faster is going to be great for Toparis as a whole.
“Hopefully I can gain some experience and learn from them and be able to apply that experience in the Australian championship in the 2018 season.”
Toparis will be joined on the grid by fellow Aussies, Anthony West (EAB antwest Racing) and Team GoEleven Kawasaki’s Lachlan Epis, who will contest the entire Supersport season.
All four riders will do double duties on the final weekend of February, as they will also be racing in the opening round of the Australian Superbike and Supersport Championship which runs in conjunction with the WorldSBK.
