BMW's Leon Haslam set the fastest time on day one of testing at Portimao yesterday, fending off team-mate Marco Melandri by a tenth of a second while Ayrton Badovini made it an S1000RR clean sweep, bagging the third quickest time.
Haslam's 1'43.6 is more than two seconds off Jonathan Rea's pole time from the October race but temperatures are significantly cooler than they were six weeks ago when the Algarve was experiencing its hottest October in since records began.
The Factory Aprilias are, suspiciously, circulating at the exact same time of 1'43.9 which means the unofficial times aren't exactly truthful but if Chaz Davies' given lap of 1'44.0 is not too far from correct, it is good news for the Welshman as his last test at the track was a washout.
Crescent Suzuki new-boy Leon Camier had a rough opening day and suffered with brake problems which meant he could only do 20 laps aboard the new GSX-R1000. Testing partner Alastair Seeley spent more time on track but a fastest lap for the Irishman wasn't released.
World Superbike test day one - conditions dry
Leon Haslam BMW Motorrad 1'43.6
Marco Melandri BMW Motorrad 1'43.7
Ayrton Badovini BMW Italia 1'43.8
Max Biaggi Factory Aprilia 1'43.9
Eugene Laverty Factory Aprilia 1'43.9
Chaz Davies Parkingo Aprilia 1'44.0
Michel Fabrizio BMW Italia 1'44.5
Leon Camier Crescent Suzuki 1'45.8
