Reigning WorldSBK Champion Jonathan Rea has topped the opening day of WorldSBK testing at Jerez, putting in a 1'39.650 to be almost four-tenths clear of Kawasaki team-mate Tom Sykes while MotoGP exile Loris Baz made his debut for the Althea BMW squad.

Rea was never challenged at the top of the timing screens and continued to work on settings and parts for 2018, including the new rev limit. Setting a time of 1'39.650, he was 0.355 ahead of the rest of the field, the champion will receive his MBE tomorrow back in England meaning he is to miss Tuesday on track.

Sykes will be present for all five days and was able to put in an impressive day of lap times around the 4.4km circuit on Monday. Hoping to iron out some issues already encountered with the ZX-10RR, Sykes has been working relentlessly – putting in 67 laps - with his team to build on the pace and understand the limits of his Ninja.

First out on track in Southern Spain, Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) has been using the track time available to himself and his Aprilia team to the full potential, putting in 74 laps. Struggling around Jerez when the championship visited the track in October, the Irish rider has been able to achieve some strong times as he begins to understand the development needed for 2018. He was able to end the day with a lap time of 1.41.183, putting him 1.5s behind Rea. On the other side of the garage, Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) ended the day in the top five, 1.7s off the top of the timing screens.

Making his return to the WorldSBK paddock, Baz’s fastest time of a 1'41.352 put him in the top four on his first day with the BMW team. Making big improvements in the afternoon, Baz was able to put in a strong amount of laps – 75 - as he starts to understand his S1000RR with one more day out on track tomorrow.

Struggling with levels of fitness following an operation last week, Jordi Torres had a measured introduction to the MV Agusta but the Spaniard highlighted the importance of building a relationship with his team. However, with the fitness levels deteriorating Italian Alex de Angelis was able to head out on the 1000 F4 to secure some data for the team.

Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), who missed the final round of the season at Qatar, came out on the ZX-10RR in the afternoon to evaluate his first impressions with the Orelac Racing VerdNatura Team. Putting in a strong stint under the sunny skies, his lap times began to improve as the day drew to a close.  

Yonny Hernandez (Pedercini Racing) is only present for the opening day of testing with Pedercini Racing, as the team begin to evaluate their options for next season. The Columbian rider spent the day getting to grips with a WorldSBK machine, as it was his first time on the ZX-10RR beast. Using the day to the full advantage, he was able to get an impressive amount of laps in and a strong afternoon.

Day one lap times

1. Jonathan Rea               Laps: 42  1:39.650          
2. Tom Sykes                    Laps: 67  1:40.005             +0.355
3. Eugene Laverty           Laps: 74   1:41.183           +1.533
4. Loris Baz                        Laps: 75   1:41.352            +1.702
6. Lorenzo Savadori        Laps: 75   1:41.374           +1.724
7. Jordi Torres                   Laps: 90   1:41.628           +1.978
8. Leandro Mercado      Laps: 47   1:42.041           +2.391
9. Yonny Hernandez       Laps: 62   1:42.476           +2.826