Soon-to-be double World Superbike Champion Jonathan Re has revealed he is using ex-Supersport king Fabien Foret as a riding coach.

The Castletown resident was fastest in yesterday Jerez test after testing a raft of new parts in readiness for the 2017 season, outpacing team-mate Tom Sykes by a quarter of a second.

“That was a very positive day, maybe the most positive of the season. I spoke for a long time with Fabien Foret, who is helping me to improve my riding, seeing how I am attacking the corners in a different way,” said Rea.

“I am not a testing guy and woke up today with little motivation but step-by-step everything we were trying out was working. We were consistently fast all day and then, when we put all the items together we had been testing; we made a good step forward.

“We tested and refined some things in readiness for 2017 including some new front forks, and found not only a happy feeling with the forks but a rear shock we tried near the end as well. Even with used tyres we were able to lap very fast.

“I was happy all day. Even in the hot conditions we were able to be fast. I am very thankful to Kawasaki and Showa, and all my crew, who worked hard. Also to Pere and Paolo and to Fabien, who has helped me change my riding position on the bike. There were many positives today.”