Suzuki MotoGP team tests seamless shift gearbox for first time

The Japanese manufacturer completed two days of running at the home of the Malaysian Grand Prix, with Maverick Vinales joined by test riders Takuya Tsuda and Nobuatsu Aoki.

Aleix Espargaro missed the test, having fractured a vertebra in a training accident last week.

That meant the Spaniard missed the debut of the new gearbox, with Suzuki having been the only factory MotoGP team running without a seamless shift in 2015.

It was also the first time Vinales used the new-for-2016 control electronics, the team having elected to stick to learning the Michelin tyres at Valencia earlier this month.

"These two days have been very intense; we tested many many things and I'm happy because I could try the 2016 electronics," Vinales said.

"The first touch was positive and it left me with the feeling that it has a great potential, but we still have so many things to work on and there's room to improve.

"I'm also happy I could test the new seamless, we were expecting it and my impression is very positive.

"Now we have plenty of information to work on during the winter."

Suzuki's next test will be the first group running of 2016, back at Sepang in February.

"We had a few things to test, among which we managed to test the new seamless gearbox and I am happy that Maverick had a first positive impression," team manager Davide Brivio added.

"We also had the chance to compare some chassis parts and gathered important information for the winter development.

"We also started to work with the 2016 unified software - the test team already started with it in Valencia a couple of weeks ago - and we also gave it to Maverick.

"On this area we still have much work to do but the start was positive.

"For us this test has been very important to give the directions to work on in the winter.

"We also tested new tyres for Michelin and found some good improvements to be worked on further in the future."