Source: Suzuki Racing.

Voltcom Crescent Suzuki teammates Alex Lowes and Eugene Laverty unofficially set the pace in eni FIM Superbike World Championship testing at Portimao during a two-day test this week.

Lowes completed 165 laps over the two days in Portimao on a track he had never previously ridden, while Laverty completed 133 laps.

The distance covered allowed the team numerous chassis-setting evaluations to find the best balance for braking stability, steering and rear grip to further the developments made in Almeria last week.

Lowes’ best lap was a 1m42.5 in a stunning performance, one tenth quicker than Laverty on the second of the GSX-R1000s. Third quickest was Pata Honda’s Jonathan Rea with a 1m42.9.

“The test has been really good,” Lowes said. “I’m still learning a lot about the bike and obviously it’s a new track for me, so it was nice to have the opportunity to learn the track and still be quick!

“We did a long run today and while the times were good, the most important thing was that it gave me a lot of confidence. We got a lot of information about the bike and it was good for me as well, as I’ve not done a race simulation since the last round of BSB.

“I still need to improve myself a lot and work on the bike but we shouldn’t be too far away. A massive thanks to the team, they’ve been working really hard, late nights and two tests back-to-back. I think everyone is excited, we are all getting on great and we know we need to work hard. We have a big challenge in front of us and it’s nice to do a good job.”

The test also included Aprilia and Ducati’s factory teams.

Portimao Superbike World Championship test times (unofficial):
1. Alex Lowes 1m42.5
2. Eugene Laverty 1m42.6
3. Jonathan Rea 1m42.9
4. Davide Giugliano 1m43.0
5. Marco Melandri 1m43.1
6. Chaz Davies 1m43.2
6. Leon Haslam 1m43.5