Martin Jessopp will end the wait to embark on his World Supersport career tomorrow when he jets to Australia ahead of the opening round.

The Yeovil Marsh-based rider and his Performance Technical Racing Riders Honda crew will gain their first experience of the Victoria’s Phillip Island track during a two-day test at the start of next week.

He will then pit his wits against the globe’s best 600c racers a week on Sunday in the year’s first outing in support of the World Superbikes series.

Monday will be only the second time former British Superbikes star Jessopp will have taken to a circuit on his new bike, having endured a challenging test in Spain last month.

The 26-year-old said: “I have been counting down the hours so it is a case of doing the last few bits, getting my kit back and doing the boring stuff that needs to be done. I have got to keep up with my training and stay focused on the race.

“We have got six hours in two days of testing on Monday and Tuesday before we go into the race meeting so hopefully we will get an idea of the track then and then it will be down to me to get the bike set up and get up to race speed.

“We have come a long way since we first entered the British Superbikes five years ago to where we are now where we can go out to a world championship.

“We will be fighting for good points and hopefully get some top ten finishes. We will want to get as much testing done and get as much data in for our guys to work with.”