Source: Supplied.

Reigning World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea finished the first day on track for 2017 on top at the Jerez test, with a laptime of 1m40.162s. Clear blue skies greeted riders, and once the track heated up it was perfect conditions for January testing.

Eight teams took to the track as the top 11 were covered by two seconds. There were many talking points surrounding the opening day of action, as the times continued to tumble and many updates took to the track.

Kawasaki Racing Team picked up where they left off, with Rea continuing his search for more power as well as undergoing race simulations aboard the ZX-10RR. Teammate Tom Sykes is continuing to make changes to his Ninja’s core set-up, as he makes way for the technical updates 2017 is bringing to the series. The pair ended day one spilt by just 0.260, never falling outside of the top three.

Following a fairly calm start to their pre-season Aruba.it Racing Ducati have had a busy test in southern Spain, now running both Panigale Rs with the 2017 configuration. However this didn’t slow down Chaz Davies, who spent the majority of the day in the top three.

First rider out of the box this morning, Davies clocked a time of 1m40.784s by the end of the proceedings. Whilst returning teammate Marco Melandri was able to sit in a top five position as he looks to making a welcomed return to the WorldSBK series.

Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team Ducati) had his first taste of track time since the final round in Qatar, concentrating on getting some kilometres in aboard the Panigale R. The Spaniard had an impressive opening day, ending with a lap time of 1m41.396s in sixth position.

Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team were able to make some solid steps as they received the full 2017 R1 – updates to the Yamaha mean both riders are beginning to feel more comfortable aboard their machines.

Alex Lowes is heading into his second year with the bike and is feeling happier with his riding position and constant improvements with the team saw him end the day in the top five. New recruit Michael van der Mark put in solid lap times to see him finish in the top 10 – his best being a 1m41.908s as he continues to adjust his riding style according to the R1.

Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) ended the test in eighth position with a time of 1m41.619s, riding the 2016-spec BMW, with some new parts brought in for the test. German Markus Reiterberger (Althea BMW Racing Team) spent day one undergoing a back-to-back comparison with the parts received on his S 1000 RR, finishing 13th overall.

Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) had a strong first day of 2017, as the Italian ended the day in the top seven aboard his freshly unveiled Aprilia RSV4 RF, whilst teammate Eugene Laverty was just four positions back in 11th and were both lapping under two seconds off the fastest time of the day.

Honda World Superbike Team have a lot of learning to do, getting chance to test their CBR1000RR machine for the first time. Nicky Hayden and Stefan Bradl spent the day putting in over a combined total of over 73 laps, gradually creeping up the timing screens. The duo ended the day both in the top 12, a solid start to their 2017 campaign on a totally fresh machine.

Randy Krummenacher (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) began to make steps on the newly built ZX-10R, ending his day 2.585s off Rea’s top time. But with the first goal being a points scoring finish for the 2017 season, the World Supersport graduate will continue to make steps throughout the pre-season testing.

There were also FIM Supersport World Championship riders present on track at Circuito de Jerez – GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team, Orelac Racing VerdNatura and CIA Landlord Insurance Honda. Zulfhami Khairuddin (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was the top rider for day one.

Tuesday also saw the debut of Australian Mike Jones with the Aruba.it Racing Ducati Junior Team in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup category, setting a 1m44.211s and within half a second of the fast time of the day.

Superbike day one laptimes:
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) 1m40.162s
2. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) 1m40.422s
3. Chaz Davies (Aruba It.Racing Ducati) 1m40.784s
4. Marco Melandri (Aruba It.Racing Ducati) 1m40.812s
5. Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official Team) 1m41.058s
6. Xavi Forés (Barni Racing) 1m41.396s
7. Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia Team) 1m41.416s
8. Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing) 1m41.619s
9. Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team) 1m41.830s
10. Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Team) 1m41.908s
11. Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia Team) 1m42.142s
12. Stefan Bradl (Honda World Superbike Team) 1m42.255s
13. Markus Reiterberger (Althea BMW Racing) 1m42.530s

Supersport day one laptimes:
1. Zulfhami Khairuddin (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) 1m45.658s
2. Jules Cluzel (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) 1m46.182s
3. Nacho Calero (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) 1m46.345s
4. Robin Mulhauser (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) 1m46.479s
5. Kyle Ryde (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 1m46.729s
6. Hikari Okubo (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) 1m47.107s

Superstock 1000 day one laptimes:
1. Marco Faccani (Althea BMW Racing Team) 1m43.769s
2. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing-Junior Team) 1m44.023s
3. Mike Jones (Aruba.it Racing Junior Team) 1m44.211s
4. Julian Puffe (Althea MF 84) 1m46.932s