Team Volvo Group Suzuki's Robbie Bugden captured his first-ever Australian Superbike Championship round victory at Queensland Raceway yesterday.
The experienced 32-year-old from Brisbane claimed a convincing race two win aboard the Phil Tainton Racing-prepared GSX-R1000, sealing the overall victory for the round after taking a fighting third in race one.
The opening race saw Team Suzuki's Wayne Maxwell race to second and Bugden third, before the second 17-lap race of the day was an enthralling affair with Bugden edging-out team-mate Maxwell by just 0.338s in a one-two result for the defending 2013 ASBK Championship-winning team.
Five-time New Zealand Superbike Champion Bugden claimed the overall victory from race one winner Glenn Allerton and Maxwell; and is now third in the points standings after two point-scoring rounds; and just one point behind Maxwell in second.
Said Budgen: "It's a massive day for me. We've been building momentum ever since we tested here and that was the foundation of today's results. We made some really positive progress with the GSX-R1000, so it's great to get my first ever Australian Superbike round win. It's an emotional day to do it here in front of my family and friends. It's a day I will have fond memories of for a long time to come!"
Maxwell was satisfied with his overall result at Queensland Raceway after a practice crash on Friday proved a minor setback. Team Suzuki worked hard to get him back on track and he was able to reward the crew with its second podium of the round as he raced to a pair of second places.
Said Maxwell: "I couldn't be happier! Coming away with what's my worst track on the calendar to finish with 2-2 results is a great result. Full credit to Team Suzuki, the GSX-R1000 is working awesome; and I'm really happy for Robbie to claim the round victory. We'll move onto some tracks where I'm a bit stronger now and see what we can do for the rest of the season."
Team Manager Phil Tainton congratulated both Bugden and Maxwell, proud to see the pair continue to challenge for the championship with both speed and consistency in its early stages. Bugden's race two win to clinch the round was particularly satisfying for Tainton after a longstanding relationship of eight years.
"To win overall and have both riders on the podium is an exceptional result for us this weekend," said Tainton. "We fought hard all weekend and the last race was just fantastic. It's really given us enthusiasm for the upcoming rounds and the rest of the season; it really has been a great weekend for all of us here at Team Suzuki."
The Australian Superbike Championship will resume at Sydney Motorsport Park in New South Wales on August 1-4th in the series' first appearance at Eastern Creek since 2009.
Superbike overall Results:
1. Robert BUGDEN (Team Volvo Group Suzuki) 43 2. Glenn ALLERTON 43 3. Wayne MAXWELL (Team Suzuki) 40 4. Josh HOOK 35 5. Jamie STAUFFER 32 6. Chas HERN (CM Racing Team Suzuki) 29 7. Linden MAGEE 28 8. Glenn SCOTT 27 9. Sloan FROST 23 10. Beau BEATON (Racer's Edge Performance Suzuki) 23
Superbike Championship Standings (after 3 of 7 rounds):
1. Glenn ALLERTON 94 2. Wayne MAXWELL (Team Suzuki) 80 3. Robert BUGDEN (Team Volvo Group Suzuki) 79 4. Josh HOOK 67 5. Jamie STAUFFER 66 6. Glenn SCOTT 54 7. Beau BEATON (Racer's Edge Performance Suzuki) 49 8. Linden MAGEE 43 9. Phil LOVETT 38 10. Ben HENRY (Cube Racing Suzuki) 34
