Jonathan Rea says more to come from 2023 Kawasaki ahead of World Superbike opener at Phillip Island

The six-time champion rode his 2022 machine and the latest Ninja ZX-10RR back-to-back in the afternoon session during the final pre-season test at Phillip Island on Tuesday.

Rea – who finished fifth fastest overall during the two-day test – prefers the 2023 machine and is confident he can be in the fight for the podium as the new season gets under way in anger with race one on Saturday.

Reigning champion Alvaro Bautista topped the times on Tuesday on the new Ducati Panigale V4R in 1m 30.272s, with the Spaniard leading the way by 0.072s from Pata Yamaha’s Andrea Locatelli.

Bautista’s Ducati team-mate Michael Ruben Rinaldi continued his fine pre-season form as he slotted into third, two tenths off the top time.

Ulsterman Rea was caught out at Turn 4 for the second time on Tuesday after slipping off at the same section of the circuit on Monday, but said he was more satisfied with the Kawasaki than he was on day one of the test.

“Today we tried a 2022-spec bike versus the 2023 spec bike in the afternoon session,” he said.

“There are positives and negatives with both but I preferred to stick with the 2023 bike.

“Unfortunately, doing a race simulation, on about lap 14 I got caught out in Turn Four. The wind was very gusty and it is coming in strongly from the sea, and I was pushing at my limit – clearly.

“I had very positive sensations during that long run and I was able to stay in the 1’31 laps times. That pace is where I need to be to fight for the podium,” Rea added.

“After that we tried the SC0 rear tyre because Pirelli asked me to do a longer run to evaluate how it would perform in the Superpole race.”

Rea – third in last year’s championship behind Bautista and 2021 champion Toprak Razgatlioglu – was satisfied with tyre performance during the test but was especially pleased by the electronics gains.

“Our tyre performance was good and from an electronics point of view I am really happy with the steps we have made inside the team. I am more satisfied with the bike than yesterday,” he said.

“Clearly there is potential with the new bike and we have to keep working to extract that potential.

“We have made a step compared to last year, I feel. For race weekend, I feel we can fight for the podium.”

His team-mate Alex Lowes was 15th on the time sheets.

Pata Yamaha’s Razgatlioglu headed the times on Monday and was sixth fastest on Tuesday, 0.485s down on Bautista’s benchmark lap.

WSBK rookie Dominique Aegerter made a big impression as the double World Supersport champion ended day two fifth quickest on the GRT Yamaha, 0.467s behind Bautista.

His team-mate and fellow series newcomer Remy Gardner was ninth fastest with former MotoGP race winner Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Ducati) in 11th.

Free practice gets under way on Friday with race one on Saturday scheduled for 05:00 GMT.

Sunday’s Superpole race is at 02:00 GMT with race two at 05:00 GMT.