Swan Yamaha's Michael Laverty was the fastest rider on circuit at Snetterton today (Wednesday) as the riders completed their final day of pre-season testing ahead of next weekend's opening round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch.

Laverty hadn't ridden the Swan Yamaha since the team tested at Cartagena, but once accustomed to the new circuit he was soon able to make minor suspension changes to the Swan Yamaha and was able to set the fastest time this afternoon with a time of 1m:48.8s; an average speed of 100mph around the new 2.99-mile circuit.

Laverty said:

"It has been a pretty good day for us and to be honest we haven't strayed away too much from the base setting we had in Cartagena. This afternoon we made a tweak to the suspension but really until then I was blowing away the cobwebs as I hadn't ridden since Spain. The Swan Yamaha was working well and it was great to get some more track time here before we start racing at Brands Hatch next weekend."

Shane 'Shakey' Byrne was second fastest on the HM Plant Honda as he made his final on track preparations ahead of his BSB race return at Brands Hatch next weekend. The HM Plant Honda team pairing of Shakey and Ryuichi Kiyonari have made further steps forward today with testing new parts and electronics with both now feeling confident ahead of the season opener.

Shakey said:

"It has gone ok today and I am relatively happy with where we have finished. We have been doing a lot of work with a new electrical package, so I have really been focused on that today. We had some good feedback in the morning sessions and then Kiyo had a go on my bike in the afternoon and we both were heading in a similar direction with changes. When I went back out after Kiyo it had evolved again with his input too and then the final session it had a couple of red flags unfortunately, but I am happy and it is next weekend that matters now."

Josh Brookes was third fastest on the Relentless Suzuki as the team continued to build on the progress they made at Brands Hatch yesterday and now he is feeling confident ahead of next weekend's opening round.

Brookes said:

"I love the new track and full credit to the design team behind it as it is now an awesome track. This morning we were just bedding in to the new circuit and I think when we come here later in the year we will be faster once the track has had more laps on it and it is warmer. We didn't really change anything from Brands Hatch and I was able to do two long runs and everything seemed to be working well for us. Once we were more familiar with the circuit we changed a link that we thought would work better based on our previous experience. I then swapped bikes and concentrated on doing some longer stints on the other one. I wanted to do another couple of laps on a new tyre but then the final session was red flagged, which was a bit of a shame but we are feeling good now and ready for Brands Hatch."

Jon Kirkham had set the fastest time at Brands Hatch yesterday but feeling happy with the team's final progress he decided to sit out the final session of the day as the temperature dropped on circuit. His best lap put him fourth on the timings and having clocked up the laps, he is now eager to get the opening round underway.

Kirkham said:

"We have done a lot of laps over the last two days and the main thing today was we tried a new thumb brake. I had never tried a rear brake before but after a few laps I don't know how I haven't used it! I changed my riding style a bit but I did some good times before lunch, but by the end of the day I was happy with everything so I didn't go out for the last session. We are ready to roll for next weekend now."

Unofficial overall test times from Snetterton 300:

Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) 1m:48.8s
Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) 1m:49.0s
Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki) 1m:49.2s
John Hoplins (Samsung Crescent Racing) 1m:49.2s
Jon Kirkham (Samsung Crescent Racing) 1m:49.5s
Michael Rutter (Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati) 1m:49.6s
James Westmoreland (Motorpoint Yamaha) 1m:49.6s
Loris Baz (Motorpoint Yamaha) 1m:49.7s
Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 1m:49.8s
Stuart Easton (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) 1m:49.8s
Gary Mason (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) 1m:50.3s
Martin Jessopp (Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati) 1m:52.1s