Vermeulen impressed with new Suzuki

The bike was the same one that test rider Nobuatsu Aoki used in the Malaysian Grand Prix recently, and Vermeulen was pleased with his first few laps on the machine.

"It's been a good first day's test for the 2008 season," said the Australian. "The bike felt very good for a first run out.

"There were a lot of positive points and definitely something to work on. We've got a lot of hard work to do and I'm really looking forward to it."

Team boss Paul Denning was also very happy with Vermeulen's first run on the new bike.

"Chris was able to get on an early version of the 2008 bike at the end of the day," he said. "The track had cooled off a bit, but his very first run put more smiles on more faces.

"He was able to find some characteristics in the prototype that will help us take some significant steps in the next season."