Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea believes he is in good shape following two days of World Superbike testing at Jerez and reckons he has all the necessary tools in his side of the garage to hit the ground running at Phillip Island this time next month.

The Isle of Man resident set the third quickest time of the test when all the top when stuck in qualifiers for a last-ditch time attack but also said a race simulation gave him plenty of data on how the bike behaves on used tyres.

“It was a good test and more so because we got dry track time. We were able to evaluate lots of things. I tried quite a lot of geometries and changing the balance of the bike quite a lot. We never found a big difference in lap time, even when we were radically changing the bike,” said Rea.

“That proves to us that the bike is working in quite a big window. We found a big step forward with the engine management and electronics on the afternoon of the second day and I was able to improve my lap time quite a bit. That filled me full of joy and confidence.

“I was able to do a race simulation at this test and I understood how the bike behaves when the tyre drops. I think we have the right tools in the garage to keep working and be in good shape when the lights go out at Phillip Island. At the end of the day we tried a qualifying tyre and it works well on this bike. It has been a busy and positive test.”