The Repsol Honda Team embarked on its final three days of testing in 2007 at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain today. Nicky Hayden continued to develop the new carbon-fibre clad RC212V - the 800cc machine that will contest in the 2008 MotoGP World Championship. Taking advantage of cool, sunny conditions at the famous Andalucian circuit, the factory Honda rider began analysing the latest engine and chassis updates to the HRC prototype racer.

Nicky Hayden was back on board the RC212V just ten days after the Sepang test and he too was encouraged by the latest developments to this all-new machine. The 2006 World Champion completed 63 laps today and finished the day with the fifth fastest time. His lap of 1m 40.923s was also inside his fastest lap from the March race when he recorded a best time of 1m 41.441s. The test continues at Jerez for two more days.

Nicky Hayden Fastest lap: 1m 40.923s – 63 laps

“Overall it was a pretty positive day. We tried some modifications to the engine to get it running better than it did at the previous two tests and now it seems to be more responsive and to be running a little better - though it’s still not quite there. We also changed a few things on the chassis, for instance the offset, which took a while and reduced our track time somewhat, but this was important to try to understand more about the machine. This is the first time I’ve been able to come into the garage, focus on the 2008 machine and spend the whole day on it so that was beneficial. It wasn’t a perfect start to the test - that’s pretty rare - but we definitely learned some useful things and I’m encouraged by the start we’ve made here today. Let’s see what happens over the next few days and aim to make some more improvements.”