Qatar today hosted MotoGP teams for the first of three test days at the Losail International Circuit, with pleasant 25ºC conditions compared to the habitual scorching weather which hits the deserts of Doha. Despite the late arrival of fuel, and thanks to the kind help from Honda colleagues Team Gresini who lent some of their supply, the Camel Honda team began their work after the lunch break, working hard on a set-up for the Losail track, both with Alex, who was quickly amongst the fastest riders, and with Troy who continues to improve his feelings with the RC211V.

Ramon Forcada – Camel Honda – (Alex Barros’s Technical Director) - “We have only been to this track once before, for last year’s GP, and the conditions were completely different back then, both in terms of the weather and the track itself. Nevertheless we began from the settings from October, and continued with the work on the forks which we had begun in Australia. We also tried two new fronts from Michelin and tomorrow we will do tyre tests and more set-up work.”

Alex Barros – Camel Honda – 1’58.90 (27 laps) 3rd fastest - “We didn’t do that many laps today, because we didn’t have that much fuel, but we still began well. The conditions are definitely better than when we came here for the race, also because the Superbikes raced here on Saturday which laid some good rubber down on the track. I felt comfortable pretty much straight away, the bike is set-up well and we went quickly straight away, even though 28 laps doesn’t give you much opportunity to test too much.”

Santiago Mulero – Camel Honda (Troy Bayliss’s Technical Director) - “Today was quite a good day, Troy is already riding at his race pace from last year and he doesn’t have too bad a feeling with the bike. We started from the position we were in Australia as regards base set-up and tomorrow we will continue to work in that direction.”

Troy Bayliss – Camel Honda – 2’00.68 (26 laps) 8th fastest - “I’m quite satisfied with the first sensations at this track, even though we couldn’t ride too much. We have been lucky to get such good conditions, but there is still a little bit of wind around. If only it could be like this when we come back here to race, but I don’t think it will be. However we will try to make the most of these days here and tomorrow apart from the set-up work, we will work alongside Michelin to try some new tyres.”