Camier fastest on day 1 of Island SBK test

The 25-year-old from Ashford in England resumed where he left off in a private test at Phillip Island last week, and set a best time of 1m31.243s, well under the existing lap record of 1:31.785 and within reach of the fastest ever WSBK lap around the 4.445km circuit - a 1:30.882.

Eight other riders also recorded times in the 1:31 bracket, and the gap between the top 12 fastest bikes was less than a second - with Australian wildcard Jamie Stauffer sneaking his Honda into the mix.

With plenty of track time available for riders to really get into the groove on the resurfaced track, behind Camier came Briton Leon Haslam (Honda, 1:31.396), followed by impressive privateer Michel Fabrizio (Aprilia, 1:31.401), Aprilia's Eugene Laverty (1:31.452), BMW's Marco Melandri (1:31.481), and Ducati's Carlos Checa (1:31.523).

Stauffer was in 12th, and fellow Aussie wildcard Glenn Allerton (BMW) was 18th in the field of 20 riders.

In World Supersport, 20-year-old Australian Josh Hook (#16 Team Honda Racing CBR 600RR) is already raising eyebrows with his speed and tenacity on his Honda, and was seventh fastest today. Briton Sam Lowes (#11 Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha YZF R6) was the fastest on another Honda, ahead of reigning world champion Kenan Sofuoglu (#54 MAHI Racing Team India Kawasaki ZX6R).

Testing for World Superbike and World Supersport will conclude tomorrow.

Images: IRPR