The Yamaha Racing Team has formally confirmed it will continue in the 2017 Australian Superbike Championship with riders Wayne Maxwell and Glenn Allerton.
The timely news came as ASBK contenders gear up for the official Phillip Island test day at the end of the month.
Both Allerton and Maxwell are considered masters of the mighty full-litre bikes.
Allerton said of the continuing alliance: “We have gone back and analysed our seasons with a view of what we can do better in 2017.
“I feel that we are going down the right path to correct some of the issues that we had last year, and most importantly, I feel really confident on the Yamaha YZF-R1M.
“The testing we did at the end of 2016 was invaluable and my feel on the bike was excellent.”
Maxwell said there will be a myriad of fresh challenges ahead of new race formats in 2017.
“With riders, teams and even privateers stepping up their game, 2017 promises to be a tough year with a great level of racing and professionalism both on and off the track.”
“There will be a new race format and it will take more than just a few fast laps to win a round or a championship.”
The first round of the 2017 Australian Superbike Championship kicks off from February 24- 26 at Phillip Island.
The 2017 ASBK calendar:
Round 1: February 24-26 (WSBK Support Classes), Phillip Island Grand Prix
Round 2: March 17-19, Wakefield Park, NSW
Round 3: April 28-30, Winton Motor Raceway, VIC
Round 4: TBA
Round 5: August 25-27, Morgan Park Raceway, QLD
Round 6: September 8-10, Sydney Motor Sport Park, NSW
Round 7: October 6-8, Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC