Hoffman upbeat for start of season

The German was the fastest Ducati rider on the last day and felt that the set-up work on his machine, allied to the feel from his Bridgestone tyres, had left him comfortable with where the team stand at the moment.

"We worked a lot on the bike, constantly tweaking with the general set -up," he said. "The Bridgestone tyres felt very good, and my race pace is constant.

"I'm fast with the current configuration and also my race one, which allowed me to obtain my best times.  For me, it was an important day because I solidified my confidence in the bike and just like in Australia, I showed that I can be fast. We'll be ready for the first championship race!"

Although teammate Alex Barros was unable to match Hoffman's pace, having fallen on his last lap on qualifying tyres, team boss Luis d'Antin was relatively happy with the way the Qatar run had gone - although was cautious about raising hopes too high ahead of the season.

"The first two days of this test were difficult for our team, but today everything felt much better," he explained. "We were able to find a good overall balance to the bikes and our times dropped.

"The 2007 MotoGP championship will be very difficult, but the team have committed themselves to be as competitive as we can be. We're getting a grip on things, but there is still a lot to do, and we must be united in order to continue working well."