Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1521442
P118 INTERVIEW I FACTORY INDIAN'S TROY HERFOSS to be a part of and to turn a ride that no top rider wanted into one that took the championship was hugely satisfying for myself and everyone at Honda. "I didn't want to just finish up racing and with the wife and some kids, I didn't want to just have nothing. So, I was just do - ing some [out of racing] work for security and peace of mind, re- ally. Once the Indian deal came up, I said, there's a lot for me still in racing. Now I'm in America and I feel like I'm 21 again. After the injury, I'm really motivated. I really want to be here. I'm out there and doing it like a young guy. I started pretty late, too. I was 22 when I started road racing, so it's not like I've been doing it since I was a kid." Herfoss has gone from contemplating retirement to being one of the busiest men in international racing in the space of two seasons. As part of his factory Indian duties, he takes on KoTB and the second seat on the S&S/Indian Motor - cycle FTR1200 Super Hooligan machine and will roll in a full season defending the number- one plate as teammate to Broc Pearson in the DesmoSport Ducati team on the Panigale V4 R in the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK). "It's a lot!" Herfoss admits, "but next year I think I'll be full- time in America. I'd love to ride a Superbike out here, but I know the Bagger deal, especially on a factory Indian, is a great one to have. It's a new challenge, and my family and I are really keen to move to America. It's an excit - ing time." CN A six-hour operation followed in which a compound fracture to his right humerus was repaired and his hip was smashed where doctors had to reattach the upper right femur to the broken ball joint in his hip. He was also diagnosed with a broken right tibia beneath the knee, Herfoss receiving a blood transfusion following a significant loss of blood in the crash and subse - quent operation. "I was a bit traumatized from that one," Herfoss says laconically. "The arm injury was basically the same as what happened to Marc Marquez, and we've all seen how long it took him to get right. My right side basically took the full brunt of the impact. I was in a wheelchair for a month, and my wife and I had to move in with her parents because I needed constant care. We'd just had a baby as well, so it was a really tough time. "I was racing in 2022 and going to the specialist and they were telling me, 'Your hip is still broken. It's not healing.' I was going to finish up racing at the end of '22. I luckily held onto the ride in 2023, but the reality was it wasn't a ride that the top su - perbike riders wanted, so I kept it and we managed to win the title. I gelled really well with that team, we were together for 10 years. It was an amazing group Herfoss (center) is flanked by Cru Halliday (right) and Mike Jones (left) after taking the 2023 ASBK title 18 months on from nearly ending his career with his Darwin crash.