Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

Popular Queenslander Robbie Bugden has officially hung up his helmet following a national Superbike career that spanned well over a decade, officially announcing the news via social media.

After winning last year’s Australasian championship, Bugden returned to the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) in 2017 and rode to fifth in the championship with Kawasaki BCperformance.

“After 16 years racing top-level Australian Superbikes, I’ve decided to call it a day on full-time racing,” Bugden revealed. “I can honestly say that the last 16 years have been nothing short of a dream come true.

“I have raced with some of the best teams in the business, raced alongside some amazing riders, raced in seven different countries, on some of the best tracks on the globe. But now I feel the time is right and I walk away very proud of all my accomplishments and what I have achieved in the industry.”

The past two years have been a remarkable return to racing of sorts for the five-time New Zealand champion after sitting out 2015 altogether, however he’s now decided to slip into retirement following what has been a largely successful career between Australia and New Zealand.