Voltcom Suzuki newboy Randy De Puniet made his World Superbike debut for Voltcom Suzuki today at Jerez but his first day on the bike was interrupted by bad weather.

The French former MotoGP rider had to contend with a wet track for a majority of the time but he was able to put in some useful work on the GSX-R1000.

“We were not so lucky with the weather today, the track condition was not very good as it didn’t fully dry, but I did about 20 laps in these conditions and I was happy as the feeling was quite good,” said De Puniet.

“We decided to try the bike in the wet and the feeling was really, really good, the lap time was very fast and I was immediately confident on the bike and with the Pirelli’s. We have already adjusted the mapping and the suspension and it is nice to have a good bike already, now I just need to adjust my riding style.

“I am happy and I’m hoping for dry conditions tomorrow to allow us to improve a lot but I think it is a good start. The feeling with the team is good, they are very professional and I’m excited to start the season.”