The San Marinese, third in the quarter-litre championship for the past two seasons, reduced his best lap time by 0.4secs, but still slipped from 13th to 15th on the test timesheets.

Nevertheless, being at such an early stage in his premier-class career the de Angelis was most concerned with maximising track time.

"I'm happy with the RC212V, my target was to start studying the bike and make as many kilometres as possible and I completed 84 laps in total," he said. "This morning we worked on the rear suspension and the change worked well. My feeling improved and also my pace. In the afternoon we focused on the front chattering because it affects a lot my way of riding. We tested some different front tyres and got some interesting indications that will be useful for next test session. I like this bike, it's fun to ride. In particular I'm impressed by the electronics!"

Veteran team-mate Shinya Nakano was a solid ninth fastest as he continued to reacquaint himself with Bridgestone tyres.

"I'm very satisfied with these two days of testing," said the former Konica Minolta Honda rider. "My target was to get used to Bridgestone tyres and to know the team. This morning we focused on suspension set up and we worked with Bridgestone to find a front tyre that suits to my style. I'm very happy because the feeling with Bridgestone tyres is good and also the feeling with the mechanics. The Gresini squad is a top team and this gives me an extra motivation to do well, to work on me to improve my performance and to show that I'm back. Lap after lap the feeling with the bike and the pace improved. I look forward to next test session because I want to arrive ready for the start of the 2008 season."

Honda Gresini will be back on track at Jerez from November 27 - 29.