Chaz Davies pushed through two days of testing at Portimao despite still physically recovering from a twinge in back sustained at Jerez’ test in Spain last week.

The British ace doesn’t believe the pain is the result from a crash on the opening day of testing in Spain, however it somewhat hindered him throughout the Portugal outing.

Still in the early stages of piloting the all-new Panigale V4 R, Davies wasn’t targeting a quicktime winding up 11th on the timehsheets, rather focusing on the development of the bike in the key chassis, engine and electronics areas.

“It’s been a couple of testing days in more ways than one,” Davies stated. “Physically I’m not really recovered from the twinge in the back I picked up in the Jerez test, so it hasn’t been the most comfortable time for me.

“On the flip side I’m very happy to have finished the test because I didn’t think it was going to be possible, but I did some good physio between the tests that allowed me to lap.

“Portimao is really important because it’s another track where we need to find a good base set-up for the V4 R, while I try and get fully acquainted with the bike. We’re not there yet and we’ll keep on working but I’m confident and looking forward to getting to Phillip Island for the opening round.”

The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider has less than a month to recover before he’s out on track again at Phillip Island on 18-19 February, which takes place one week prior to the season-opener at the iconic Australian venue.

Before heading out on track for the final day of pre-season testing in Portugal, the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team unveiled its 2019 FIM Motul Superbike World Championships (WorldSBK) livery for their new BMW S1000RR.

Riders Tom Sykes and Markus Reiterberger lifted the covers off the premier class contenders, revealing the iconic BMW M Motorsport design ahead of media and thousands of fans across the globe attending their presentation live on the social media channels of the team.

The S 1000 RR takes its cues from the iconic BMW-M colours, with swathes of red and blue running through the matte white finish machine.

Sykes completed the two-day test sixth on the timesheets with a fast-lap of Sykes 1m42.246s, while Reiterberger wound up in 10th with a time of 1m43.146s. The next hit out for the squad will be at Phillip Island in Australia on 18-19 February for two days of testing before the season-opener at the venue one week later.

Kirk Gibbs’ pre-season campaign has kicked off with the New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville, scoring a podium finish while on debut with Altherm JCR Yamaha.

The Pirelli MX Nationals regular, who’s signed with CDR Yamaha Monster Energy this season, is currently in New Zealand to defend his national title with the Josh Coppins-operated outfit, taking to the Woodville circuit at the weekend for his first hit out of the year.

The South Australian lodged a pair of second place finishes, granting him second overall behind local favourite Cody Cooper (Honda Racing), as Cohen Chase (Eni Kawasaki Race Team) rounded out the podium.

“It’s great to get a race under my belt and some starts behind the gate,” Gibbs explained. “Being my first race in a long time, on a new bike and team, I feel like everything is coming together really well. I’m happy with my speed and fitness so far and will only get better as I get more racing done.

“The aim is to win. Cody Cooper is such a great rider and knows how to win but I think I am in a good spot to do battle with him. It will be a battle every round because I know he wants that number one plate back over here and I don’t want to let it go.”

Hamish Harwood (CML Motorex KTM Team) took out top honours in the MX2 category ahead of Australian champion Wilson Todd (DPH Motorsport Husqvarna) – the duo each scoring a race win – as Maximus Purvis (Altherm JCR Yamaha) completed the top three. The New Zealand MX Nationals fires into action this weekend at Taranaki.

Team Honda 114 Motorsports’ Mitch Evans has put in an impressive performance in his first hit out since moving to Europe to challenge the upcoming MX2 World Championship, featuring inside the top 10 at the weekend’s International d’Italia opener in Riola, Italy.

The Italian event boasted a number of world championship regulars across both categories, with multi-time world title holder Antonio Cairoli (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) taking out the MX1 and Superfinal races, as reigning MX2 world champion Jorge Prado won the opening MX2 encounter.

Making his racing debut aboard the CRF250R, Evans charged to sixth in the MX2 moto before lodging a positive seventh in the Superfinal, which sees the top 450 and 250 contenders combined for one 30-minute outing.

“The weekend was a very positive start to the season,” said Evans. “I achieved my goal of riding smart, consistent and keeping it on two wheels. It was great to race against some of the guys I will be racing in the GP’s and I am happy with where my speed and fitness is at. I am looking forward to racing again this weekend.”

Compatriot Caleb Grothues (SDM Corse Yamaha) was also impressive in the MX2 category, finishing one position behind Evans in the quarter-litre class, while his campaign in the Superfinal was ultimately cut short after six laps. The Italian motocross championship heads to Ottobiano this weekend for round two.

Petronas Yamaha SRT has unveiled the look it will sport in its maiden MotoGP World Championship campaign this year, officially launching the team at the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia.

The Petronas Sprinta Racing line-ups for Moto2 and Moto3 were also featured in the presentation, where a unified colour scheme was uncovered for all five machines across the three grand prix categories.

“It has been a real privilege for us to present the team here at the incredible Petronas Twin Towers and display our bikes with the definitive liveries for 2019,” said team manager Wilco Zeelenberg. “I am very proud of the look of the project and the work we have done over the last couple of months.

“The team is incredible and we are all very much looking forward to starting the first test in Malaysia. Our objective for the test will be to pick up where we left off at Jerez – we have new bikes for the riders and we are hoping they can build on the knowledge they acquired in November. After the winter break the first thing will be to get used to the Yamaha and its speed again, and to continue improving the feeling with the bike.

“We will also have to make a lot of technical adjustments, taking into account the fact that it will be three tough days because of the heat and with eight hours of available track time. We are very excited to get started and begin our preparations for the first race of the new season in Qatar.”

The newly-formed outfit will field Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo in the premier category, while the Sprinta Racing squad will feature Khairul Idham Pawi in Moto2 and talented duo Ayumu Sasaki and John McPhee in Moto3. The first pre-season test for the MotoGP class is scheduled for 6-8 February at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.