Chaz Davies admits he is still searching for speed as he prepares to launch his World Superbikes campaign in Australia.
The Powys-born racer safely qualified for Saturday’s first Superpole battle of the season on the Phillip Island track near Melbourne.
But Davies’ eighth place in opening practice left him off the pace of his main rivals ahead of the season opener.
The 29-year-old Ducati rider was 0.7seconds adrift of pacesetter Sylvain Guintoli with the first race of the weekend double taking place on Saturday under the new format.
Davies, who was runner-up to Ulster’s Jonathan Rea last year, said: “I was quite satisfied with my performance in the morning session, but in the afternoon we ran into some issues.
“When we understood how to fix them, it was too late to work on the bike.
“It’s a bit unfortunate, because with the new format we have about half an hour less of track time on Saturday.
“Anyways, we’ll make some bigger changes Saturday to find more grip.
“The pace at the top has been progressively faster and, while I’m confident about my speed over the race distance, we need to improve our performance on fresh tyres.”
Free Practice Top 10
1. Sylvain Guintoli FRA PATA Crescent Yamaha R1 1m 30.865s
2. Michael van der Mark NED Honda Racing CBR1000RR 1m 31.249s
3. Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 31.324s
4. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 31.363s
5. Leon Camier GBR MV Agusta RC F4 RR 1m 31.445s
6. Nicky Hayden USA Honda Racing CBR1000RR 1m 31.475s
7. Davide Giugliano ITA Aruba.it Racing Ducati 1199R 1m 31.527s
8. Chaz Davies GBR Aruba.it Racing Ducati 1199R 1m 31.593s
9. Lorenzo Savadori ITA IodaRacing Aprilia RSV4 1m 31.725s
10. Markus Reiterberger GER Althea BMW S1000RR 1m 32.792s
Endig