“I’m f***ing not.” That was the answer Troy Herfoss gave crew chief Paul Free when he asked his Penrite Honda Racing rider if he was okay, in tears and lying in a Darwin hospital after a horrific crash into a concrete barrier in 2021.
The long breaks that typically punctuate the ASBK season were now an ally, with Herfoss enduring seemingly endless rehabilitation to claw his way back into race-winning form by the end of 2022. But he was far from convinced he could challenge for a title in 2023.
