Yamaha Motoxracing’s Bradley Ray got back in the World Superbikes saddle with an encouraging pre-season test in Portugal.

Putting his new Yamaha YZF R1 through its paces for the first time, the results already looked promising on day one when the Lydd racer set a best time of 1min41.027sec, improving on the mark he recorded during last year’s Superpole at the same Portuguese track.

On day two Ray improved, putting in a 1.40.852 ahead of the final test in Australia on February 19-20, with the championship opener at Phillip Island on February 23-25.

“I’m really pleased with how these two days have gone,” Ray said.

“I hadn’t ridden my bike since the November test, but I quickly felt comfortable. We mainly worked on the electronics and took some important steps forward.

“We’re not far from the frontrunners and could have done better but we chose not to use the qualifying tyre.

“I can’t wait to complete two more days of testing at Phillip Island before we head into round one. A huge thanks to the entire team for all their hard work.”

Team principal Sandro Carusi added: “These first two test days have allowed us to get back into a rhythm ahead of the new season. I’m pleased with the work completed, both in terms of preparing for Australia and the outright lap times, achieved without using the SCQ tyre.

“This means I’m confident as to our potential.”