Former MotoGP star Eugene Laverty found some pace with the works Milwaukee Aprilia at the Portimao WorldSBK testing, chasing brother-in-law Chaz Davies for top spot in Portugal and only missing out by two-tenths of a second in the final analysis.

Laverty had been struggling for stability on brakes and turn-in but found a setup he liked in the Algarve and was able to make the best use of it, while team-mate Lorenzo Savadori was only 0.041s further back in third.

"Today was a big improvement for us. I made good progress yesterday but I was still having to fight the bike, whereas today I was able to do a lot of laps and really get it feeling like my bike again. I feel like I can race with it now, and I felt comfortable on the race and quali tyres. It's been a very productive two days, much better than Jerez, and we made big breakthroughs to resolve the chatter I was having,” said the Monegasque.

“I’m feeling confident for Phillip Island; we have a good base to work from and the team is working really well together.  It's one of my favourite tracks to ride, and with another test there I think we're in a good position to really move forward."