Nicky Hayden and Max Biaggi continued their test programme at the 5.4km Losail circuit in Qatar today (Wednesday) and both bettered their times from yesterday.

Hayden, who was fastest yesterday, completed 78 laps round the featureless circuit and ended the day third fastest behind Makoto Tamara (Honda) and Loris Capirossi (Ducat). The 23-year-old American worked hard on the set-up feel of his 2005-spec Honda RC211V with his new team to good effect.

Biaggi, who had a hard day yesterday finding a good set-up for his machine, had a much better day today. The 33-year-old Italian and his team made a few crucial adjustments to the bike and better times resulted almost immediately. Biaggi continues to gather data and test new parts in preparation for the 2005 season that starts in Jerez, Spain on April 10th.

Nicky Hayden - Tuesday 82 laps. Best lap 1m 58.36s - Wednesday 78 laps. Best lap 1m 57.78s - “We knocked a bit more off yesterday’s time which was satisfying. We made some changes in the transmission and we used a different front tyre compound which increased grip and confidence levels a little. The track defiantly has a bit more grip than yesterday but its still pretty windy round here. We have a few new parts to test for the bike – some of which seem to be working well. It’s all going generally in the right direction.”

Max Biaggi - Tuesday 67 laps. Best lap 1m 59.20s - Wednesday 71 laps. Best lap 1m 57.79s - “We did better today. We tried a different set-up with different geometry and different suspension settings and the feeling was immediately better. We are still trying to improve the handling and it’s coming better. I trust everyone around me and we are all working hard for the best results. We still have quite a lot of work to do on the front with tyres from Michelin and some adjustment from the Showa guys. Tomorrow we hope to complete a full race simulation.”