Image: Alex Gobert.

YMI with YRT’s Robbie Bugden insists that Yamaha will challenge for the 2014 Swann Insurance Australasian Superbike Championship (ASC), despite an influx of front-line Australian Superbike (ASBK) talent and teams entering the series.

Yamaha has been the dominant force in the ASC (former FX-Superbikes) since it switched fulltime in 2010, picking up three consecutive titles with Kevin Curtain and then winning with Broc Parkes last year.

However Bugden is well aware of the challenge that the factory-backed Team Honda Racing and quality privateer Next Gen Motorsport BMW efforts will bring after finishing third in the ASBK series for the now-defunct Team Suzuki last year.

One major aspect that Bugden’s hoping will be to his benefit is having five New Zealand Superbike Championships to his credit – those tracks not too dissimilar to some of the more technical Swann Series circuits.

“The tracks in New Zealand are very similar to this,” Bugden told CycleOnline.com.au. “Obviously I had a lot to learn at the test because I hadn’t been to Wakefield in 10 years, but the bike reacts really well to the changes.

“We went faster every time we got on it, made a couple of improvements and we have a good idea what we have to do to get that little bit faster for when we come back.”

The Queenslander has gelled quickly with the Brisbane-based Yamaha team, eager to work closely with teammates Kevin Curtain, Cru Halliday and Rick Olson in a bid to keep Yamaha in title contention upon the incoming threat of the top former ASBK teams.

“I bounced a couple of ideas and thoughts off Curtain and he was more than happy to help, and so was Cru,” he added. “Everyone’s been really welcoming and I think if we all work together it will be the best outcome for the team.

“Hopefully we can all work together to get the best out of this Yamaha, and it’s already won the championship so there’s no reason why it can’t do it again. We started out pretty steady, but every session we got quicker and started posting some pretty competitive times.

“I believe we will be more than competitive and the whole team’s been great – I’m enjoying it.”

Bugden was fifth quickest at last month’s test in his second outing aboard the YZF-R1, 1.1s off the leading pace of fierce ASBK rival Glenn Allerton aboard the Next Gen BMW HP4.