Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

The final two rounds of the 2018 New Zealand Superbike Championship will see the surprise return of five-time champion Robbie Bugden next month, set to join Yamaha’s official team in a return to racing of sorts.

After finishing fifth in last year’s Australian Superbike Championship and then announcing his retirement from full-time competition, the former Australasian champion is taking an open mind into his latest racing foray.

“I didn’t ever say that I was going to retire from racing completely, more so wasn’t going to race full-time,” Bugden explained to CycleOnline.com.au. “Unfortunately Hayden Fitzgerald got injured in New Zealand, which opened up a spot at Yamaha and away we go – we’re heading back for the final two rounds of the championship.

“There’s going to be a lot to learn in a very short amount of time and I think coming in midway through the championship will be difficult. Everybody’s going to be on top of their game, while I will be going in with a new team on a new bike for me, but I have had plenty of success in New Zealand, so I’ll be going to do the best that I can.”

The four-round championship will resume with round three during the Mike Pero Motofest at Hampton Downs on 3-4 March, marking Bugden’s first appearance with Yamaha, before the series wraps up with round four at Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park on 17-18 March. Suzuki’s Sloan Frost currently leads the series at halfway.