Voltcom Crescent Suzuki‘s Alex Lowes topped the times after the second day’s test at a dry Circuito de Jerez as he and teammate Randy de Puniet continued the evaluation of their 2015 FIM World Superbike Championship challengers.

With no track action until after lunch - the damp tarmac a result of Monday afternoon’s downpour - the two Suzuki riders got straight down to business on their Yoshimura-powered GSX-R’s as soon as the conditions allowed, with representatives from the Japanese tuning house looking on.

Initially taking the lead on his 66th lap, Lowes was the first rider to break the 1’41 barrier - setting a 1’40.949 on a race tyre with 15 minutes left of Tuesday’s session. The British racer was briefly dropped to second by countryman Leon Haslam on his new Red Devils Aprilia, before quickly responding with a 1’40.730 on qualifying rubber, to end the day with the fastest time overall. Having worked on engine brake strategies throughout the afternoon’s 71 laps, Lowes was confident with the progression made so far and looking forward to today’s return to the circuit.

De Puniet continued his study of the GSX-R in the afternoon focusing on the Suzuki’s electronics, suspension and gear box. Circulating on the Pirelli race tyres for his full 57 laps, the Frenchman finished his first World Superbike test in eighth position and is reassured by the potential he has found in his machine.

Due to the challenging weather endured so far, Voltcom Crescent Suzuki is continuing their testing programme today.

Alex Lowes: “It’s been a long day as we have had a lot of new software to try, but we have slowly plodded away and made some really good steps throughout the afternoon which is always nice. I’m really happy with my times, on race tyres it was good and it’s also the fastest I’ve ever been round here so that’s great, but obviously it’s difficult to compare because of the track conditions. I’m really enjoying riding my GSX-R again and getting on well with all the new guys, I just need to stay patient and keep working hard so that when we get to round one we have a proper understanding of everything and we can then put it all into a race situation.”

Randy de Puniet: “It was an interesting day because finally, around 1-1:30, we went on track, the track condition was more or less the same as yesterday but we were luckier as there was no more rain so we were able to ride until six. We worked a lot, adapting my riding style to the bike, working on the electronics, suspension and the gear box, because I struggled a little bit with this, but we found a solution and I’m quite happy. I didn’t try the qualifying tyre because it was not the right moment for me; I prefer to spend more time on the track with the race tyres to understand the drop and the right settings for the race distance. Alex set very good lap-times and this proves the new engine spec is good and the bike has a really good potential so I just need to continue to work and to reduce the gap with him. I’m confident, it is only the first day for me on the bike and I hope the weather with be good for the next few days to continue our work in this direction.”