Former Moto3 king Danny Kent still has some ‘learning to do’ on the Buildbase Suzuki despite bagging third on the combined timesheets after two days’ Bennetts British Superbike testing at Silverstone.

Kent has ad hoc appearances on a Superbike in recent years, but 2021 marks the start of a full-time campaign, and ending the test third and only on lap-record pace has served as a welcome confidence boost.

“I’ve got to be happy with that at the end of the day. This, really, was my first proper go on a Superbike with a good team around me that know the bike and have the experience, so to come away in the top three feels good,” said Kent.

“I was a bit worried, you have thoughts about if you’ll be fast enough when it comes to it and people have asked that question of me, and understandably maybe, but I think today’s answered those questions, and confidence is pretty high at the moment.

“The objective at this test was to just get comfortable, and I wanted to come away feeling like the bike was mine, and we definitely achieved that. The bike felt great and the team have done a really good job.

They’ve got so much experience at this level I just rode the bike, and let them make any changes they wanted to make. The result was it made doing the lap times so easy and I think with a more experienced rider than me onboard it could easily have topped the times.

“I just kept making the odd mistake when pushing hard and I’d over ride and do the wrong things to go fast on a superbike. So I’ve got a bit of learning to do still but I think I could have gone faster. Plus we lost nearly two sessions with a crash on Wednesday morning.

“Being at Silverstone made it easier as I know that track, and I know it’ll be harder at Snetterton. But I also know the bike can go fast there. It’s just going to be a case of putting the laps in, learning the circuit, the bike, and keep building that connection. For the first day back it feels pretty good.”