Eugene Laverty was second on the timesheets for both days in Portimao, and afterwards the Irishman declared that he was happy, confident, and aiming for wins from the opening round of the WorldSBK season.

“I feel a lot more confidence ahead of Phillip Island after this test,” said Laverty. “We’ve had six days on the bike now. The November test was just to get used to the Pirelli tyres again, and by the end of that test I was feeling ok with them.”