By Peter McLaren

On a day when the satellite RC212V of LCR's Randy de Puniet set the pace for the second day in succession, Hayden was only ninth fastest - and with his best time set during a brief run with the more powerful 'standard' engine.

"We used the standard engine in the morning. I set my fastest lap, then we started using the pneumatic-valve engine after about 25 laps," confirmed Nicky.

As reported yesterday, the relative lack of performance from the pneumatic-valve engine has prompted Honda to try placing a 'standard' engine inside the new 2008 chassis at this test. But that has triggered front-end problems and Hayden again repeated that he hopes Honda keeps faith with the new engine, having yesterday warned that without "big progress" they "may not be running it".

"With the [pneumatic-valve] engine the bike did feel more like the prototype I rode last November, I guess because the bike was designed to have that engine, so maybe the extra weight makes it work a bit better," said the #69. "It's got smoother power and more rpm but top speed is a bit down, plus I was coming in every 12 laps to check the system so it wasn't so easy to get into a rhythm. But I think the pneumatic valves are the way to go because that engine's got more potential."

Nevertheless the American, now Repsol's only representative at Sepang following Dani Pedrosa's injury, faces a tough choice in terms of how to best allocate his time during Thursday's third and final day.

"Now we're going to sit down, talk about it and see which engine we're going to use tomorrow," Hayden concluded.