Tommy Hill was feeling 'quite optimistic' after the conclusion of his first WSBK test, at Cartagena in Spain.

The Hannspree Honda Althea rider, who effectively missed the entire 2008 WSS season after a serious pre-season injury was followed by further damage at turn one of his Nurburging return, completed no less than 130 laps during his second and final day of testing.

Although no lap times were realised, the former BSB star insisted that 'significant gains' had been made.

"I'm very happy because I thoroughly enjoy riding a Superbike. Today I rode 130 laps, which is a great result for me. The bike is consistent and I can ride it as I like," he declared. "We are leaving Cartagena feeling quite optimistic. We had to work hard for two days to find the best electronics solution and made significant gains in terms of the machine's overall performance. I want to thank all my team and also the Ohlins technicians for doing a great job."

Hill's next test will be at Portugal's new Portimao circuit, from January 23-25.

Althea's Supersport pairing of Mark Aitchison and Matthieu Lagrive were also present at Cartagena.

"Today I pushed more because I wanted to check the set-up we established during the tests," revealed Aitchison. "We fixed a lot of small but important things and it helped me to gain confidence. I started off trying to find the right bike balance in order to feel more comfortable and make it easier to ride and each time I ride I get more confident with my bike. I'm extremely pleased to work with the team and I thank them all for their efforts."

"These two days were very important for us," added Lagrive. "We tested many things and have done a lot of work with the suspension and different links. Thanks to the great job done by my mechanics I was able to carry through the tests that I wanted. I'm looking forward to trying my bike the next time and improving it in time for the start of the season."