Chaz Davies got his World Superbikes campaign off to a blistering start by clocking the fastest time in opening practice in Australia.

The Knighton-born rider took up where he left off last season as the new season started at Phillip Island near Melbourne.

Davies’ best time of one minute 30.189 was only a tenth of a second slower than the record on qualifying tyres – and he reckoned he could have gone quicker.

The 30-year-old’s first race is on Saturday when he will be looking to maintain a streak that saw his win the final six races last season.

Ducati rider Davies said: “Day one was OK, and I’m happy about our performance.

“On my best lap I missed a couple of tenths through the last sector, potentially we could have lapped in 1’29, which would have been quite impressive.

”But we can still improve our race pace.

“Since the first test session and throughout the whole winter we’ve been methodical, chipping away and trying not to make radical changes to the package.

“This track is a bit more difficult for us, we had to make a few more adjustments to our base, but we found a better setup today and I hope to be able to further improve tomorrow.

“People keep mentioning our winning streak at the end of last year, but we’ll take the race as it comes.

“If there’s an opportunity to win, we’ll go for it. Otherwise, we’ll take as many points as possible. Consistency is the key.”

Davies knows it was a few DNF’s that cost hime last season as he finished third in the standings despite winning 11 races – two more than champ Jonathan Rea.

Kawasaki’s Rea finished one-tenth-of-a-second slower in second spot after the two practice sessions with Barni Ducati’s Xavi Fores third.