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Nico Terol’s confidence is growing as the Spanish rider prepares for the first round of his new journey in the eni FIM Superbike World Championship. The one half of Althea Racing Team’s all-new rider line up for 2015 showed great speed in the two-day test completed at Jerez few days ago.

The dry weather encountered in Southern Spain allowed the former 125cc World Champion to put in a significant number of laps aboard his Panigale R machine.
“I’m happy with what I was able to find in Jerez” Terol told WorldSBK.com. “It was the first time I was able to have a real go in dry conditions – the previous tests were hampered by poor weather – and I have to say that I felt really great.”

Terol made an important step forward in terms of lap-times as he went for a quick-lap attempt with qualifying tyres on the second day, lapping only 1.4s slower than Giugliano. Being able to perform at high level on a superbike was the thing that worried Terol the most:

“The level of the field is really high, there are many strong riders and the pace is definitely fast. My feeling with the new Ducati is great and I’m able to improve my performance each and every time out. I was able to try a qualifying tyre for the first time and I need to learn how to make the most of it as it’s got a great grip,” he added. Terol will have another chance to gather some more experience in two weeks as the World Superbike and Supersport teams will perform a two-day official test at Phillip Island, few days before the season debut on the same track.