Tarran Mackenzie brushed off inclement weather conditions as he got to grips with Superbike machinery once more in a two-day test outing with the PETRONAS MIE Honda WorldSBK team at Misano.

The 2021 British Superbike Champion received the call-up from the Czechia-based, Malaysian-supported team after MIE Honda's regular race riders Eric Granado and Hafizh Syahrin were both ruled unfit following accidents during the most recent Catalunya WorldSBK round.

Though familiar with 1000cc machinery from his time competing in BSB with McAMS Yamaha, this was the first time Mackenzie - who currently competes with MIE Racing in the WorldSSP Championship aboard a Honda CBR600RR - has sampled the Honda CBR1000RR-R with a full electronics package.

Though rainy conditions dampened his progress over the two days, Mackenzie ended the test with a fastest lap of 1m 37.101secs, +3.5secs off the top time set by Aruba.it Ducati's Alvaro Bautista.

“It was exciting riding the CBR1000RR-R for the first time. I hadn’t been to this track for six years either, so it wasn’t easy of course, and riding a different bike meant there was a lot for me to take in and understand but as the day went on, we continued to improve. 

“We made some changes for today, to try and improve my feeling and make me more comfortable, and things went a little better overall I’d say. The weather wasn’t great, but I felt quite good in the rain this morning. 

“I think I perhaps improved a little, but I’d definitely need more time to understand everything. I’m happy to have tested here though and have learned a lot over the two days.”

CLICK HERE to view the 2023 WorldSBK Championship points' standings after Round 4 of 12