Britain’s Sam Lowes believes he could fight for points if the opening MotoGP race of 2017 were tomorrow after a successful final day’s testing at Phillip Island.

The former World Supersport Champion put in a 1’30.200 to cut his gap to Maverick Vinales to 1.6s but readily admits he is not fast enough on the Gresini Aprilia.

“There are many more positive aspects of our tests than it may seem. I started off with a few difficulties, but growth was constant. I managed to stay up with the group of riders ahead of me, despite a few uncertainties in my fast lap that cost me a couple of tenths. We obviously need to be faster, but I think that all the riders on the grid would say the same. The gaps are incredibly close,” said Lowes.

“With the exception of the top two, practically all the other riders are within just over a second. To be honest, if we were to race tomorrow I think I could battle for the points, but I know that our potential is much higher, so the tests in Qatar will be our chance to look for another step forward. What Aleix demonstrated with the 2017 bike is an important sign. I know that I have a good technical package to start the season in the best possible way.”