Hopkins still battling wrist injury

The Suzuki rider believes that the nature of the Spanish circuit is putting more strain on his wrist than the Losail circuit did recently, but he was happy to be comfortably in the top 10 during free practice.

"I still have a bit of pain and this is a more physical track than Qatar so I am really feeling it," said Hopkins. "But I'll ride around that and I am expecting to have a good weekend."

Hopkins had to skip the official IRTA pre-season test at the track earlier this month due to his crash in testing in Qatar, and the new rules restricting the number of tyres meant that he had to gamble on his tyre selection.

However, he is happy with the start the team has made to the weekend, and he is confident that they can challenge at the front once they make a few more improvements.

"We are working through the tyres with Bridgestone as I had to throw the dice a bit with which tyres to choose," he said.

"But everything has got off to a good start and if we can get that bit more grip and get a good qualifying position then anything can happen come Sunday."