Image: Keith Muir.

Yamaha Racing Team with YMI’s Robbie Bugden went under the Queensland Raceway lap record on Thursday in the team’s private Australasian Superbike Championship test.

While times are officially yet to be released by Yamaha, it’s understood Bugden lapped in the mid-1m09s bracket to go fastest in the single-day test, beneath Daniel Stauffer’s current ASC (formerly FX-Superbike) benchmark of 1m09.944 set in 2013.

The official category circuit ‘best lap’ was set by former Yamaha front-runner and eventual champion Broc Parkes in qualifying last year at 1m09.746.

“It’s pretty hard to know what the pace is going to be, but I went under the lap record from last year and all signs are positive,” Bugden told CycleOnline.com.au. “We’ve come along in leaps and bounds since my initial test at Queensland; I’m really getting the hang of it and feel quite comfortable.

“You have to ride the R1 a little bit differently, but we’ve got a little bit of momentum on our side from Mallala and now coming into my home track here I think we can hopefully push forward and get that first win for Yamaha.”

It’s no secret that Yamaha will face its most difficult challenge of the season to date at the Ipswich circuit when the series resumes on 27-29 June, as horsepower will become paramount on the four high-speed straightaway sections. Despite that disadvantage on paper, Bugden insists Yamaha can vie for victory once again.

“On paper it looks like it could be a tough round for us, but I was certainly a lot more upbeat about our chances after Mallala,” he added. “We showed that through the turns the Yamaha is as good as anything, if not better. That can possibly even out the areas it might be lacking in.

“To go under the lap record boosts our confidence, but like I said, it’s hard to know what everybody else will be doing. We’ll be going there to win like we do every time. It might not look like the Yamaha’s suited around there, but it might just be a darkhorse and I think it could surprise a few people when we go back.”

Bugden was joined by factory Yamaha teammates Cru Halliday and Rick Olson at the test, which also included a fleet of YRD-supported Supersport riders. Rival teams are scheduled to test in Queensland next week.