Image: Russell Colvin (YRT).

Yamaha Racing Team completed a two-day private test at Winton Motor Raceway on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week in preparation for the Australian Superbike Championship decider on 30 September-2 October.

Championship leader Wayne Maxwell will take a seven-point advantage into Winton’s final round aboard the YZF-R1M, using the test to get to grips with the resurfaced 3.0-kilometre circuit.

“We have made some improvements today over yesterday, now that we have a clearer direction,” Maxwell commented. “However I think we are still a little bit off from where we need to be – myself and the Yamaha Racing Team will continue to keep working away. We’ll just keep doing what we have been doing all year and work away at it.”

It was a positive outing for teammate Glenn Allerton, who is currently 11 points outside of the title lead ahead of the sixth and final ASBK round. He was satisfied with the work done across the two days.

“I’m really happy with how the test went today,” Allerton recalled. “I felt really good on the Yamaha R1M machine. We have made some really big steps forward, so I’m really happy with how it’s going.

“I’m looking forward to the final round now. It’s a pretty big gap now until the final round, so ideally I would like to ride again before then, but that’s just the way it is. The main thing is its been a really good few days testing. The weather held out for us which is great, so fingers crossed we will have the same sort of conditions come October.”

Third of the official YRT entries Cru Halliday was also satisfied with the work carried out at Winton this week, aiming to finish off the championship on a strong note in October. He is currently sixth in the standings.

“Overall its been another good day testing here at Winton,” Halliday said. “We have managed to sort out the tyres and the suspension, which gives me a lot of confidence heading into the round in a few weeks time. Things will change from now until October – we’ll just take it as it comes and see what pans out.”

Also on track during the two days was a host of Yamaha Racing Development (YRT) support riders, including Superbike class front-runner Daniel Falzon on the JD Racing entry, as well as a selection of R3 Cup competitors.