Scott Redding used a qualifying tyre to go quickest of all on day one of WorldSBK testing at Portimao - a tyre with which he is less than familiar.

Redding had spent the day tryinh out new chassis parts and settings on his factory Aruba Ducati Panigale V4R and was already on a good pace with race rubber.

“I did a 1’41.9 with a race tyre and I was improving all day,” Redding told bikesportnews.com. “We were doing ten-lap runs but I was still doing laps of 42.3 to 42.5 with a 10-lap old rear tyre. I think on the 21st lap on a tyre I did a 42.6 or 7, which I think is pretty good for the end of a race run.

“I’ve not got a lot of experience of the Q-tyre so we tried that at the end and it felt good. That was the third time I’ve used that tyre and I’m starting to understand it a bit. I know that I need to be strong with the Q-tyre and understand the bike setting for it.

I struggled to turn the bike last year when I tried it but with the new bike I didn’t have that problem. We’re just kind of checking all the areas to make sure that we’re ready.”

For Redding, Pirelli’s qualifying tyre is unnecessary, but he knows he needs to do well on them for good grid slots and starts.

“I’m not a big fan of the Q-tyre because it’s kind of irrelevant really at a test but it’s important to use it in qualifying. Fortunately I seem to be quite good with it.

“Even when I used it before I was still in the ballpark. It’s adapting the bike and the team coming together. I’m eager to get out on track and get as many laps as possible. This track for me is still relatively new. Even this morning I was out at the start in the patchy conditions so I could use it to my advantage.”

Redding and Davies have some significant changes to their machinery for 2020, in terms of chassis stiffness and swingarms, as Redding outlined. “We’ve got some new chassis components and some different things for the engine. Today I was more than half a second faster with the old bike and I came in and told the guys, ‘This bike is working better’.

“But after some modifications the new bike we improved again and it felt better overall. It was good to have the time to back-to-back them and see how the lap times and my feeling. We have to get all the parts ready for PI.

At Jerez we were short on track time because of the conditions and we struggled for rear grip in Jerez, we always have, whereas other manufacturers don’t seem to struggle as much as we do, but here we haven’t struggled with it. And we have shown in the lap time that it is easier for me to be faster.”

The machine’s ride height and geometry have not been altered drastically, confirmed Redding. “It is more of a rigidity thing of the rear rather than the geometry. In some areas it’s stiffer in others it’s maybe a little bit softer but the geometry is the same so the goal is to get more feeling or more stability or more turning. In Jerez we couldn’t put our finger on it (because of the conditions) but here we could, which was good.”

A race simulation on the final day tomorrow is probably necessary for Redding but he is already posting lots of laps.

“I think I did 105 laps today and they were all 11-lap stints where I was pushing for all of those as I need to test the parts. There was no hanging around, nothing in between. But I did say to Gio (crew chief) that I want to do a long run tomorrow.

“It’s funny because there’s part of me that doesn’t want a long run because it’s a really hard track so if you can do it well in Portimao you can do a race run anywhere. I think that I’ll prepare for that for tomorrow and then try and use the SCX tyre if I can too for a shorter run.

“I’ve not used the SCX tyre so that’s something for us to try and test either here or at Phillip Island. For me it’s about collecting data and understanding everything. I’m new to this and fresh to Superbikes. People see that I came from BSB last year, and winning the championship, but that was my first year on a Superbike style bike even in my life. I’m still learning every time I’m out on track. I’m not worried about other people and just do what I have got to do to be ready for round one.”

There was just one thing missing for Redding at Portimao. Kawasaki. “I feel pretty good and it’s a shame that Johnny isn’t here because he’s going to be the main rival, regardless. He’s a good target to have. We know that the Kawasaki is exceptional in Jerez in the winter. Come to the race and it was more difficult.

“I did my best to block that out so that is why I was keen for them to come here because I though it was a circuit that might favour the Ducati a little bit more. Today I was looking at the times that everyone was doing and I tried to imagine Johnny being a few tenths faster. He’s the strongest guy with the most titles.

“Prepared-wise, we’re not far off, I’m feeling good and relaxed and confident on the bike and that is the most important thing. Phillip Island and Qatar should suit my style so I should get off to a good start of the season.”