Dani Pedrosa to trial team-mate Marc Marquez's set-up in Qatar

Honda had a mixed pre-season, following its 2015 handling woes, but after two tough days to start the final test at the scene of the season opener, Marquez left feeling like he could "see the light".

Pedrosa was less positive, and admitted that he felt "behind" heading into the new season, but hopes what Marquez tried a fortnight ago will prove beneficial.

"I think during the whole pre-season we have been struggling a little bit with the settings in general for different reasons," he said.

"I would say in the laptimes we were not competitive.

"But it looks like Marc, together with the team and myself - at the end I couldn't ride, I had a lack of tyres - but he could test at the end and do some improvements with some different things on the bike.

"So we are going to try as well, kind of this solution.

"Obviously our setting and riding style is not the same, but the tendency, what we need to do when the bike is trying to make the tyres and the electronics work together with our bike, that is why we are going to try the similar direction."

FIRST THREE RACES KEY

Marquez has cautioned that the leading factory riders could find themselves in the bottom half of the top 10 this year, and admits he is not completely sure where Honda sits in the pecking order.

While Jorge Lorenzo was 0.516 seconds clear at the top of the final day of testing, that same margin covered second to ninth in the order.

He says a clearer picture will emerge after this weekend's season opener, and next month's flyaways before the first European race at Jerez.

"In the [Qatar] test it was amazing, how close were the times, and I think for this race all of the times will be really, really close," he said.

"Because we did the test here, everybody has a good pace, a good set-up. It will be nice.

"Then we go to Argentina, to Austin, there we will see more the difference, where we are, we must start in a good way."