Casey Stoner was upbeat about his progress with the Honda team following his first test of 2011 with the Japanese squad. The Australian, joining Honda after four years at Ducati, showed strong form during the Sepang test, finishing quickest on the opening day and second fastest on the last.
Despite a crash in today's session, Stoner was very happy with his work.
"Today was definitely the best day, despite the crash," said Stoner. "In general, we made some nice steps forward, alternating between the different chassis, trying to get a good feeling for them.
"We managed to make the bike work a lot better with used tires and a different traction control system that catches the tires a little quicker when they start to spin – which assisted with our corner speed.
"I'm really pleased with what I've found in this test, in fact it's a little better than what I expected. I'm happy with the overall package, just to be able to focus with such a good base set-up has been really important for us".
Teammate Dani Pedrosa, quickest yesterday, was also pleased with how the test had gone, especially because his injured arm gave him no problems.
"I am very very happy about how the test went in general," he said. "The best news we could have is that recovery of the arm has been effective and cramps have disappeared and the lack of power which had me so worried.
"I have concentrated more on the 2010 machine and the second test we will have more time to test this year's bike. Ohlins also will bring some new parts that can still improve the package. For me the most important step we have given is in terms of stability on braking, which was one of the things we wanted".