Yamaha Racing Team with YMI’s Robbie Bugden is amongst the favourites heading into round three of the Swann Series, with his intimate track knowledge and experience set to provide a distinct advantage at Queensland Raceway. CycleOnline.com.au polled Bugden on a handful of topics for today’s Fast Thoughts feature.

Image: Alex Gobert.

Racing on home soil…

Yeah, I’m really pumped for this one, and I’ve got pretty high expectations. Obviously it’s the home round for me, and I’ve got a lot of support here in Brisbane. It’s going to be good and I really hope I can be up there to give them something to cheer about.

A chance at back-to-back wins…

Yep. Without a doubt. Obviously a lot of things have changed, but a lot of things stay the same too. We’ve got momentum going, and we’ve showed the bike’s got plenty of potential, particularly with our results there at Mallala. I’ve been fast around here before, and we tested here recently and we tested well. I see no reason why we can’t go back to back, every time I get on the bike I have one goal and that’s to win. This round’s no different for me. I just need to get out there and get the job done.

Greatest difference between Yamaha and Suzuki at Queensland Raceway…

Everything is different really. The engine characteristics are a lot different, especially with the big bang Yamaha, so the power is different. The weight’s a bit different in that sense too. The Yamaha’s a great bike. It has a good front end, some really good brakes on it. It’s got a lot of good points that we’re going to see out here at Queensland Raceway. I definitely think it will be strong. I’m looking forward just to getting out there and seeing how we stack up.

Rivalry with Glenn Allerton…

I certainly didn’t get a Christmas card off Glenn, that’s for sure. I guess I want to beat everybody out there. Me and Glenn had some differing opinions at different points of time, but that’s the way it goes. We’re all out here to do a job, and that’s to get the best possible results we can. Occasionally it’s going to spill over. I want to beat him just as much as I want to beat anyone, I’m not going to specifically pick him out and say he’s the one I want to beat.

Three shorter races or two longer races…

To be honest I don’t really mind, I don’t have too much of an opinion on it. I’ve never really been one to get involved in the promoting or politics side of the racing, it’s not my thing. If I was told I’ve got 10 races then that’s what I’ll do and I’ll prepare myself mentally and physically. If the race is one hour long then I’ll get myself ready for that. I’ll leave it up to the promoter to make the call.

Image: Keith Muir.

The track I would like to see added to the calendar…

I’d like to see Darwin, or Barbagallo in Perth back on the calendar. Obviously they have logistical issues to consider but they’re probably two of my favourite tracks. I’d certainly love to go back to either one of those.

Hardest rider to pass…

Nobody out there is easy. They’re all at the pointy end for a reason and that’s because they’re pretty bloody good. Glenn certainly knows how to use his brakes, that’s for sure, but probably one of the toughest competitors would be my teammate from last year, Wayne Maxwell.

Queensland’s State of Origin streak broken…

Well we’ve won it eight years in a row, so we’ll give them that one. That’s fine. We won’t whinge and moan like they do, we know it’s hard to listen to because we’ve been doing it for eight years. Our plan is to get things back on track and get a Queenslander winning here on track this weekend! I’m one hundred percent focused on that. We’ll be putting the Yamaha through its paces and see where we stack up.