The weather certainly did not help, but the Aprilia-Red Devils Superbike team left Portimao with the great satisfaction of having added another important piece to the puzzle in preparation for the 2015 eni FIM Superbike World Championship. With a completely new rider line-up and the 2015 version of the RSV4, there is a lot of work to be done to turn up on top form at the first race in Australia. On Wednesday the riders only went out for a brief run due to extremely unpredictable weather, whereas on Thursday afternoon they were able to take advantage of around four hours of dry running time.

Leon Haslam and Jordi Torres, who will be astride the reigning World Champion RSV4 bike, continued their learning curve and have already responded well in terms of their feeling with the machine. Haslam, an expert and fast rider, finished the two days in the lead for the bikes with transponders fitted, stating that he was satisfied and excited about the upcoming season. He put in a total of 59 laps, stopping the clocks on his best lap at 1'43.5. Torres was also smiling, on his absolute maiden run (new bike, new category, new tyres and new circuit) and gaining familiarity with his RSV4, finishing his tests with 75 laps, with 1'45.9 being the best one.

Max Biaggi was also on the track as an Aprilia test rider. Despite a harmless crash on some tricky asphalt because of the rain at the end of the first day, the twice WorldSBK World Champion and four-time 250cc title winner finished out the testing schedule with a total of 47 laps.

Leon Haslam: “The weather definitely wasn't kind to us for these tests but I'm quite pleased anyway. This afternoon we were fast and I can tell that my feeling with the RSV4 is increasing lap by lap. There is still a lot of work to be done and I can't wait to get back on the track in Jerez to continue our progress and make sure we're in good form for the beginning of the season.”

Jordi Torres: “I can't help but be pleased with our work today. We took the best possible advantage of half a day on a dry track. The feeling is good, the bike is working great and the team is perfect. Now we need to get in as many laps as possible. I need to get used to new tyres, a new bike and, here in Portimao an unfamiliar track too. Finishing the tests just a couple seconds behind an expert and fast rider like Leon boosts my confidence. Now let's just hope we can put in some good times at Jerez so we can keep growing.”

Max Biaggi: “We really did not have a lot of time, especially when you consider the fact that the crash (on Wednesday) limited me a bit (on Thursday). We're still not at optimum performance levels, but we have already started working on a few details. The automatism is coming back. It's always great to get back on the track, but I have to get used to it again. I need to lap, so I hope we have nice weather in Jerez to be able to do a good job.”

The Aprilia-Red Devils Superbike team will take to the track again on Monday and Tuesday of next week for another two days of testing at Jerez de la Frontera.