News 17 Apr 2014

Yamaha riders return to Mallala for ASC shakedown

Factory team tests ahead of the second Swann Series round.

Image: Keith Muir.

Image: Keith Muir.

Yamaha Racing with YMI hosted a two-day test at Mallala in South Australia on Tuesday and Wednesday this week in preparation for the second round of the Swann Insurance Australasian Superbike Championship in May.

Factory riders Robbie Bugden, Cru Halliday and Rick Olson returned to the circuit for the first time since 2009, marking each rider’s debut at the venue on board the YZF-R1.

While no lap times have been released, Bugden was unofficially the fastest of the trio and said it was a positive shakedown for the team following a frustrating season opener at Wakefield Park.

“The test was really good,” Bugden told CycleOnline.com.au. “We got through a huge amount of things with the bike and made some really good progress. I might even go as far as saying that this is a bit of a turning point after what happened at Wakefield.

“We were a long way off there, so I had a good feeling at Mallala and the vibe with the team was really good – everyone’s putting in a huge effort over the two days. We’re quietly confident that we’ll be able to put in a good showing come the round.”

Olson recently returned home from further FIM Endurance World Championship testing with the Monster Energy Yamaha Austria Racing Team (YART), taking time to settle back into the production-based R1 across the two days.

“We made progress and I’m pretty happy,” Olson commented. “We’ve got a good setting to go into the meeting with and hopefully we can keep improving. The last time I rode there was 2009 on the Superstock 600, so it was different.

“I was a bit cautious because it’s tight there; even tighter than Wakefield in terms of corners. I felt a bit sketchy the first day – I’ve been in Europe testing with the World Endurance team on Pirellis and the higher-spec bike – but by the end I gained confidence.”

Halliday was also satisfied with the progress made by YRT at the test, now focusing on finding improved outright speed when the series resumes at Mallala on 16-18 May.

“The test ended up pretty good,” Halliday said. “I wasn’t as fast as my teammates, but I’ve got a pretty good race package. I was consistently fast over the two days, so it was positive. I went in with an open mind because last time I rode there was 2009 on a Superstock 600 and I struggled a bit then.

“So overall I probably went better than what I thought I would at the test. It’s definitely fast down the back straight, different than what I’d thought it’d be on the R1 so I’m looking forward to the race weekend.”

The outing marked Yamaha’s first official test since multiple-time Australian champion Kevin Curtain announced his shock retirement following Wakefield Park’s opening round (click here for details).

Yamaha support riders including ASC series leader Callum Spriggs, Aiden Wagner and South Australia’s reigning national Supersport champion Daniel Falzon were also on track during the test.

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