Late lap from Mossey leaves him on top at Almeria

A fast lap late in the day from MCE British Superbike newcomer Luke Mossey has left him top of the time sheets after the opening day of official pre-season testing at Spain’s Almeria circuit.

Mossey, who graduates from British Supersport with the Quattro Plant Kawasaki team this year, set the 1:37.859 lap at the end of the day to take the top spot off fellow rookie Lee Jackson on the Buildbase BMW.

Jackson has the majority of testing duties for the squad after teammate and championship contender Ryuichi Kiyonari was delayed from returning from his native Japan by visa issues.

Mossey’s teammate and 2014 race winner Howie Mainwaring was third, while Daniel Johnson on the Morello Racing Kawasaki was fourth.

Speaking afterwards, Mossey says they still have a lot of work to do: “It has been a good first day for us, ending with the best time in the last session.  The day started a bit harder than the last test I had at Cartagena as I had only been to Almeria on a 125 before so the Superbike was a bit different!

“Every time I have been going out I have been learning more about the Superbike and that is what I want to achieve from these tests, rather than try and do anything stupid when we have a week here on track. I feel happy with the progress already and if we carry on then everything should fall into place ready for the first round. Today has been spot on and I feel like if we continue making steps forward like we have done so far, then we will hit the ground running when it gets to Donington Park.” 

The riders will be joined on the second day of the three-day test by reigning champion Shane Byrne and his PBM Kawaaki teammates Stuart Easton and Ian Hutchinson.

1. Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) 1m37.859s
2. Lee Jackson (Buildbase BMW) +0.194s
3. Howie Mainwaring (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +1.374s
4. Daniel Johnson (Morello Racing Kawasaki) +1.466s