Hayden feeling more comfortable

Hayden has struggled to fit on the smaller bike so far, with several changes having had to be made to the RC212V, which is better suited for smaller riders like teammate Dani Pedrosa.

But the world champion said at Qatar that the team are working in the right direction, admitting that he is feeling more comfortable each day.

"This is the best I've felt on the new bike straight out of the gate and I definitely think we're getting the base settings right for me - we didn't have to change too much at all for this track to be semi-close," said Hayden.

"For most of the day we were going forward which is good because it was nice to see that progress. We're not quite down in those 1:56s laps where we need to be but we've learned some things that we can build on.

"There are a lot of good guys in my corner, a lot of good engineers from Honda and a good team around me and I've got to use that to my advantage with getting the bike dialled in.

"This is an important test because the opening race of the season is right here in Qatar so we've got to be ready to go. Conditions were good, though the day went fast so we'll be looking for two more good days to make a lot more progress."

Hayden posted the fifth quickest time of the day yesterday.