Image: Keith Muir.

Current Australian Superbike Champion Robbie Bugden dispelled claims that he wasn’t on par with the best of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) regulars after finishing second overall at Phillip Island’s opener.

After sitting a full year out of the sport in 2015, Bugden returned with Kawasaki BCperformance last season and dominated the ASC series to clinch the crown. Upon transferring to the ASBK for 2017, it was uncertain how Bugden would fare.

Queensland fan favourite Bugden proved at round one last weekend that he and the Kawasaki Motors Australia-supported ZX-10R will be a force to be reckoned with in the premier division of the sport domestically after qualifying sixth and registering 5-3-2 finishes across the three races.

“Last year I had the Kawasaki ZX-10R, which is a good bike, and a great team around me,” Dunlop-shod Bugden told CycleOnline.com.au. “We were obviously dominant in the ASC, but yeah, for sure people did think that we weren’t at the level that the ASBK was. There wasn’t the competition there, I’d agree with that, but I think at the front it was as fast as anywhere.

“Obviously, I went out there on the weekend and showed that we are as fast as anyone and that we are a real title threat. I think that we’ll be winning races this year, so you know, it was difficult to compare them both, but I know I’ve been riding as well as I ever have and that I’ve got a great team around me.

“We came into the ASBK believing we’d be on the podium and challenging for the title. So far, that’s exactly what we’ve done, but it’s only one round out of seven and there’s plenty of racing to go. We do have our challenges, going to some tracks that we haven’t been to as a team, plus I’ve never even ridden at Morgan Park, but it’s been a great start to the campaign.”

Last season Bugden eased into his racing return, before ultimately going on to win at Mallala (AFX-SBK), both Queensland Raceway (ASC/AFX-SBK) rounds and Sydney Motorsport Park’s (ASC/AFX-SBK) fourth round. He clinched both championships at Sydney’s sixth and final round.