Pata Honda’s Jonathan Rea and his team had their first taste of the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, but a lack of grip during the two World Superbike free practice sessions meant the Northern Irishman was slightly off the pace – leaving the rider disappointed.

Rea ended the day in eighth place while his team-mate Leon Haslam was eleventh as French rider Sylvain Guintoli set the provisional pole time at the 5.548km circuit.

Apart from suffering from a lack of grip Rea still had issues with engine cutting, particularly when on the straights. He was able to improve on his morning times in the second free practice session which took place in the anticipated hot and humid conditions this afternoon.

“It’s disappointing to be this far off on day one. We were able to improve our time with a new rear tyre but generally our base speed needs to improve. The good thing is that it felt quite comfortable when I did my fastest lap,” said Rea.

“The changes we are making on the chassis are going the right way but we have some engine cutting along the straights when I’m on full throttle. We need to look at that problem because at a track like Sepang it's quite a disadvantage.

“I think I’m losing about half a second in the last sector, which includes the back straight. Hopefully tomorrow we can do a better job.”

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