Edwards finished the test second only to Honda's Nicky Hayden and was the fastest rider on race tyres.

"Colin has been great," Poncharal told Crash.net "I was wondering, will he be motivated? Will he be happy, coming from a factory team to an independent team? But he has been absolutely great. He has been positive, he has been pushing out on track and he's been very, very fast.

"Colin has been through a lot of things technically speaking, because he is the only experienced rider inside Yamaha at this test, and it's been a lot of fun to work with him. But fun doesn't mean not serious.

"He looks happy with us and we are definitely really happy with him. The combination of Colin and James [Toseland] is also perfect," Poncharal concluded.

A former double World Superbike champion, Edwards joined the MotoGP class in 2003 with Aprilia. The Texan then moved to Honda Gresini the following season, before joining Valentino Rossi at the factory Yamaha team from 2005 to 2007.

Edwards has taken four second positions, four third positions, two poles and three fastest laps as a MotoGP rider - but the closest he has come to a race victory remains Assen 2006, when he fell during a last turn showdown with Hayden.