Image: Supplied.

Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tom Sykes concluded Motul Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) testing quickest at Jerez, Spain, on Wednesday, setting an impressive lap-time aboard the factory ZX-10RR.

Sykes put in a 1m38.889s to lead defending champion teammate Jonathan Rea by 0.581s, while third in the overall standings was test rider Niccolo Canepa (Pata Yamaha), while R1 regulars Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark with eighth and ninth.

Red Bull Honda signing Leon Camier is finding his feet very quickly on board the CBR1000RR SP2 and completed the Jerez test in fourth position, only 0.719s behind leader Sykes. On the other side of the garage, Jake Gagne (Red Bull Honda) ended in 15th position as he continues to adjust to WorldSBK.

Aruba.it Racing Ducati teammates had a varied second day, as Marco Melandri was strong in fifth position with his Panigale R, but Chaz Davies ended down in 12th – still recovering from the injury sustained at Jerez in November.

Continuing to work with a new team structure, Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) was able to finish in a solid sixth position within a second of Sykes. Hoping to returning to podium fighting positions, Laverty is having a positive pre-season so far, whilst teammate Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) ended the day in a disappointing 17th place.

Spanish charger Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) is still learning and understanding the Italian machine and a top seven position is a strong one. New faces on the 2018 grid Loris Baz (Gulf Althea BMW), Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Yonny Hernandez (Pedercini Racing Team) were also getting to grips with their new machines.

Baz, who is previous WorldSBK race winner, ended the day in the top 11, whilst young Turkish rider Razgatlioglu was in the top 14. Hernandez is still adapting to the Pirelli tyres and ZX-10RR SBK machine, ending the day in 18th position overall.