The Northwich rider finished 17th and 21st on his Foggy PETRONAS FP1 in the seventh round races in the Czech Republic, but he was left to rue a gearbox problem that prevented him picking up his first point of the campaign.

But Jones refused to be downbeat.

He said: "I have made more progress here than anywhere else.

"It's disappointing though that I missed the chance in race one to get a point on the board."

Jones was doubly delighted to have finished so strongly after a disappointing qualifying performance on Saturday had left him way down the 31-strong field when the grid lined up.

He added: "It's a shame I wasn't able to qualify as well as I could have done, but the grip was so poor it was a bit of a lottery to do decent times."

Despite the gear position sensor seizing up in race two, Jones lapped a second quicker on average.

"I was doing consistent laps at the start but needed to push harder to catch those in front until the position sensor stopped working," he said.

Jones' confidence has been given a welcome boost as he looks toward the next round at Brands Hatch.

He said: "I was only two seconds slower than Troy Bayliss in qualifying on Saturday afternoon, and I reckon my times on race tyres are actually pretty quick."

Championship leader Bayliss only managed one eighth-place finish over the weekend, which left Yukio Kagayama to claim a race double.

Italian rookie Michel Fabrizio stole the show with two stunning rides to clinch a pair of podium finishes from 12th on the grid.