Sofuoglu and Foret sparkle for Kawasaki
Kawasaki's Kenan Sofuoglu gained a whopping seven tenths of a second in the final half hour of testing at Phillip Island to shoot into second place overall on the World Supersport time sheets.
Sofuoglu, the 2012 champion, posted a fastest lap of 1m 34.604s on the DeltaFin Lorenzini ZX-6R compared to Ten Kate Honda's Broc Parkes, whose best lap was 1m 34.585s.
"It was very good at this test because until this morning I tried many different set-ups and rear shocks, maybe six or seventh different ones, so on the last run we put all the best stuff together in the last half an hour and I gained about seven tenths," he said.
"That took me to the top of the time sheets right away. Another rider came along and went a little faster but it does not matter as these tests were only about being ready for the race weekend.
"The bike has the potential to win the race and I have the potential to win the race and I am very hungry to win again. For one and half years I have not won a Supersport race so now it is time to win again."
Sofuoglu was not the only seasoned campaigner to shine in the test, with French rider Fabien Foret also showing plenty of promise on the Intermoto Step Kawasaki.
Foret was third fastest overall and although he would have preferred to have concluded the test with the top time, he is satisfied with his current position.
"When you are not first you are never completely satisfied but I have to admit that after a long break from riding and a new bike, new team and everything, it is not too bad. I would have been happy to know that we could have finished testing third and be riding at a reasonable pace," said Foret.
"For me speed-wise it is not amazing at the moment but the base is really not too bad and we have two more days of practice before the race which will be useful as we ran out of time at these tests. We have had a pretty positive test so close to the start of the year."
Sofuoglu's team-mate, Sheridan Morais, was seventh fastest on his debut at Phillip Island.
