Jonathan Rea ends 'solid' World Superbike test at Portimao in Portugal as focus switches to season opener at Phillip Island

Rea didn’t post a lap time on Wednesday as rain lashed the southern Iberian peninsula but was fifth fastest on Tuesday on the Pata Maxus Yamaha during a dry window in the afternoon,

Reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu claimed the top time on the ROKiT BMW in 1m 40.650s from Axel Bassani on the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team (1m 40.679s), with Nicolo Bulega third quickest on the Aruba.it Ducati on day one with a best lap in 1m 40.748s.

Rea, who clocked a time of 1m 41.100s behind Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha), is now looking ahead to the opening round at Phillip Island in Australia next month, where a final two-day test will be held from Monday, February 17 before the race weekend gets underway.

“It’s been a solid test, we confirmed some new items both here and in Jerez that we were a bit unsure of for going to the first round so that’s always a positive,” said the six-time world champion.

“We didn’t quite get down to any really meaningful race simulations or time attacks as the Portimao track was not in the best condition yesterday with a lot of rivers running through it at Turn 4 and Turn 14, but we could be fast enough to understand the bike and understand the feeling.

“We confirmed some development items and I could be quite fast on the race tyres.

“There are still some areas that we need to improve; I need a bit more stability and feeling on the front, and that’s something we’ll focus on during the Monday and Tuesday test at Phillip Island,” added Rea.

“This winter has been tough for the weather, but it’s the same for everybody. We can be satisfied with the work we’ve done and now we move on to the first round.

“The target is to go to Australia and enjoy the bike, make no mistakes and score well in all three races.”

Rea finished 13th overall last year in his maiden season as a Yamaha rider after making the switch from Kawasaki.

England’s Alex Lowes was fastest on Wednesday on the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team during a short dry spell with a lap of 1m 42.096s, with Razgatlioglu second fastest with a 1m 42.101s on the factory BMW M1000RR.