Crutchlow satisfied with early progress

The Briton is moving from World Superbikes to MotoGP with Tech 3 Yamaha for next season, and though he had previously had a brief test in the wet in Japan, this week's Valencia test was his first proper run on a MotoGP bike. He was 13th-quickest today, 1.4 seconds off the pace and within 0.2s of team-mate Colin Edwards.

"I am really happy with the way today went," he said. "To finish with a consistent pace and feeling much more comfortable on the bike, I am already excited about being back on track in Malaysia."

He cited the MotoGP tyres as the area that required the most adaptation from Superbikes.

"Obviously I've got so much to learn and I'd say the biggest challenge is learning how hard you can push the Bridgestone tyres," Crutchlow said.

"They are completely different to what I am used to but I am making progress, pushing without taking too many risks at this stage.

"There's no doubt that the pace in MotoGP is unbelievable and you have to push to your maximum on every single lap.

"To be less than 1.5s off Stoner at my first proper test is a real boost for my confidence and I was able to do a lot of laps in the 1m33s bracket, which was race pace last weekend."