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The Ulsterman, who takes over from Turkey’s Toprak Razgatlioglu in the team after nine success-laden years with Kawasaki, chalked up 68 laps at the Angel Nieto circuit after a wet weather-curtailed opening day on Tuesday.

Rea – third in the 2023 championship – set his best time on his last lap in the afternoon in 1m 39.179s as Australian Remy Gardner – using the Pirelli SCQ qualifying tyre – led the way again on the GRT Yamaha (1m 38.448s) after setting the pace on Tuesday morning before the rain arrived.

“My first feelings with this team have been fantastic, ever since I agreed to make the move,” Rea said. “Both the team and Yamaha have been really welcoming and making everything easy.

"The first test was just about getting familiar with the bike. It was a bit of a shock, I had a lot of different sensations than I am used to – but in a positive way.

"The R1 is very user-friendly – not necessarily easy to go to the absolute limit just yet, but easy to ride; it generates a lot of traction which encourages you to go fast and inspires confidence.

"You can get into the throttle and use the power of the machine – it feels good and now I can see how Toprak [Razgatlioglu] was riding the way he was, also ‘Loka’ [Andrea Locatelli] being so competitive this year. It’s all good,” he added.

“I have been using the current base setting let’s say of the R1 and in the next test we will start to work on development parts.

"A really positive experience on both days and the R1 is feeling more like my bike, particularly as we have been lucky with the weather this afternoon and got through more than we expected.

"I’m sure I could wake up tomorrow and even more performance would come but now I have to wait a couple of weeks.”

Gardner led World Supersport champion and Superbike rookie Nicolo Bulega by 0.278s as the Italian impressed on only his second day as a factory rider on the Aruba.it Ducati, also setting his best lap on a qualifying tyre.

Rea was next, just over four tenths adrift of Bulega, with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) in fourth.

Ex-MotoGP contender Andrea Iannone, back in action after four years out of the sport, also caught the eye as he clocked the fifth quickest time on the Team Go Eleven Ducati, while back-to-back world champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) was seventh behind Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Motocorsa Racing Ducati).

Rea’s next test will take place from November 20-21 back at Jerez.

Jonathan Rea reflects on 'fantastic' first Pata Yamaha test after finishing third fastest at Jerez in Spain