Marc Marquez: Honda made breakthrough with 2016 MotoGP bike in test

Honda struggled during the opening test at Sepang in early February, but the double champion suggested progress was being made after Thursday's second day in Australia.

Marquez finished that session second, before topping the final day, despite falling at Turn 9 in the closing stages.

"Overall, these three days have been very good," he said.

"I'm especially happy with today, because we have taken a big step forward.

"In the afternoon I managed to maintain a consistently fast pace, and this was the first time this pre-season that I've started to feel good with the bike and the new tyres.

"The work we've done has been positive.

"Yesterday we focused on adjusting the electronics and finding a good base, and today I think we did a good job looking for balance in the set-up of the bike."

Team-mate Dani Pedrosa, seventh on a day littered with crashes and delayed by a heavy rain shower, agreed that Honda had made progress in understanding MotoGP's new control electronics.

"Today it's been a bit difficult," he admitted.

"In the morning it was hard to improve on the set-up we found yesterday morning and lower our times.

"In the afternoon, after the rain fell, we improved a bit in some places, but I think we still have some work to do.

"The positive thing is that since the test in Malaysia we have improved with the electronics, and we hope to take an important step forward in the set-up of the bike at the Qatar test."