Factory Kawasaki's Tom Sykes set the pace on the opening day of World Superbike testing at Motorland Aragon yesterday, lapping nearly half a second inside Carlos Checa's fastest lap from 2011 and eight-tenths quicker than Leon Haslam on the works BMW.

The Huddersfield youngster was clocked doing a 1'58.4 with team-mate Lascorz in second on a 1'58.9 while Haslam went round in a 1'59.2. Eugene Laverty, who is still nursing a broken hand, was way down on a 2'00.4s lap but, along with team-mate Max Biaggi, is trying a new motor. The Roman Emperor was more than a second slower than Sykes, who tested at the Spanish track in November.

Both the BMW men are trying a whole host of new stuff, including an evolution of the 2012 motor and a new swingarm to try and stop the corner-entry problems Marco Melandri has suffered with the bike so far.

Unofficial times

1 Tom Sykes Factory Kawasaki 1'58.4 (55 laps)

2 Joan Lascorz Factory Kawasaki 1'58.9 (74)

3 Leon Haslam Factory BMW 1'59.2 (48)

4 Marco Melandri Factory BMW 1'59.3 (80)

5 Max Biaggi Factory Aprilia 1'59.5 (60)

6 Eugene Laverty Factory Aprilia 2'00.4 (40)

7 Leandro Mercado Pedercini Kawasaki 2'02.5