Jack Kennedy made a successful return to the Bennetts British Superbike crowd over five days of testing in Spain and is already pleased with his pace on the 2020 Yamaha R1.

Kennedy defended his Supersport crown last season, before coming back to the blue riband grid for with the Santander Salt TAG Yamaha team alongside Dan Linfoot.  

The team completed two tests at Monteblanco and Jerez before heading home in preparation for the next official test at Silverstone, with less than a month to wait until the opening round of the season at Easter.

“We had really good pre-season tests in Spain at both tracks and I had a lot to learn getting back on a Superbike after my time in Supersport," said Kennedy.

"The bike has to be ridden totally differently and so I have had to change my riding style after being in Supersport for so long, so that I can get the best out of the bike without hurting the tyre too much at the same time.

"It did take a bit of getting used to with the new team, but there is a great atmosphere in the garage and there is no pressure – only the pressure I put on myself to do well! It is nice to get on with the job and that is what we did in Spain.

I feel like we have found a good base setting with the bike. There is so much you can change on the Superbike compared to the Supersport bike and I thought we might end up chasing our tails a bit, but we didn’t and that was positive.

"We hope that the base setting will work as well back in the UK as it did in Spain for us and I am excited to see how it feels on a home track.

“The team have quite a few things to change on the bike now they are home to get me feeling a little bit more comfortable with seat position and a few bits and pieces like that, so I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with to get me even more comfortable.

"I am nearly there, maybe 95 per cent, and I think that last little bit will make it even better over race distance. In Jerez that was something we really worked on as it is no good just being there for a couple of laps and we had pretty good pace on used tyres.

“I can’t wait to get out now in the UK as that will be the real test of true pace for myself and everyone else. I feel like we are doing a good job and getting going with some good, strong finishes and being as consistent as possible.”