Honda's test riders Kosuke Akiyoshi and Shinichi Ito had already conducted their first test session on the bike back in April, on the Japanese manufacturer's home track at Suzuka, and this was the first time Honda could get feedback from its official MotoGP riders on the 1000cc-powered machine.
Unfortunately, due to his crash in the Le Mans race this past Sunday, Dani Pedrosa was unable to attend the Jerez meeting, which left Stoner all alone on the saddle of the new Honda bike. He completed 50 laps on the Spanish circuit and revealed he had fun in the process.
“Everything has gone very well, very positive,” said Stoner in a Honda release. “It's just nice to ride the 1000cc again, to feel the engine and the power. I had a lot of fun, I enjoyed the first day because everything we've tried seems to be working, so no complaints.”
“We didn't focus on anything special today, just tried to understand what the bike is doing, how it reacts on the brakes and things like that, also considering some the issues we have with the 800cc right now.”
“The braking point seems to be stronger, stability in the front going into the corner seems to be very good, and of course we want to understand how the power delivery is, and it is very smooth so no problem. In general, we haven't changed too much from the set-up we have on the 800cc right now and the feeling is very similar, so it's pretty good.”
An overall 8 days of testing is allowed by the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) for the 2012-spec bikes this year, so Pedrosa will get his turn later in the season.
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