A damp track surface to start on day one and fog early on day two held back the overall lap count for all riders, but conditions improved to ensure a productive period of work in the sunny afternoon sessions. Across the two days, the 2013 and 2015 Champions managed to put in 126 and 122 laps respectively.

Tom Sykes managed to be the only rider from the 27 present who got inside the 1’39 bracket with his 1’39.924, achieved after using a qualifying rear tyre. The Yorkshireman has settled into the on-track groove of the new Ninja ZX-10R WorldSBK machine comfortably and concentrated on reconfirming the choice of some items that were settled on before the winter break.

Teammate and reigning Champion Rea, despite not using a qualifying rear, still managed to set a best lap time of 1’40.856. He continued to experiment to find his ideal base setting on the new Ninja ZX-10R, but did not make a long run at this test, preferring instead to make lots of laps on used tyres as he and his crew evaluated different chassis settings and engine characteristics.

Tom Sykes, 1’39.924: “All smiles round here because basically we have changed a lot of settings, exploring more parameters with the new bike. It is working well for both riders and Kawasaki has done a great job. There are still areas where I want to improve both the bike and me but to come away from both winter tests in Jerez fastest is good, because it is not my strongest circuit. This adds to the excitement and motivation for the coming season on the new Ninja ZX-10R.”

Jonathan Rea, 1’40.856: “It is clear that the new bike has been developed more for another riding style and it asks you to ride in a certain way. So we are still exploring exactly how to extract the best out of the bike and we have changed many things. Our testing philosophy this winter - testing big items and not getting carried away with the set-up - has really made sense here. We had a new fork specification to try and a different engine character. We have been working calmly and methodically. If the starting lights went out at Jerez tomorrow, we would not be seventh.”

The entire KRT squad will now move across Spain to take part in their final European winter tests at the MotorLand Aragon circuit, between 3 and 4 February.