Jorge Lorenzo may have used a qualifying tyre to set an impressive third fastest lap time by the conclusion of the Jerez test, but team manager Daniele Romagnoli revealed that the 250cc world champion's first ever race simulation was also highly impressive.

"Jorge keeps on improving his feeling with the bike and now we can say that he finally feels comfortable with it," said Romagnoli. "Today we completed a long run that was definitely positive, especially since it's the first one for Jorge riding the M1. He was very fast, even faster than the 2007 race pace. Finally he tested two qualifying tyres that enabled him to lower his best time by one second, and we consider this to be a very good result."

The new Fiat Yamaha rider thus finished his third MotoGP test 0.902secs behind fastest man Dani Pedrosa, with the second Repsol Honda of former world champion 0.616secs ahead.

"I felt very comfortable with the M1 [today] and during the race simulation I had very positive impressions," stated Lorenzo. "The lap times are becoming faster and faster, and this means that we are working in the right direction. The traction on the rear is improving, thanks also to the new material from Michelin, so I am satisfied.

"Actually I didn't expect to be so fast in the race simulation; I went beyond my expectations," he revealed. "At the end of the third day we can say that this has been a very good test session and my overall feeling is, of course, better than after the Sepang test. I am looking forward to being back at Sepang, in January, to test new engine specifications and to try to be even faster."

"Today Jorge rode 90 laps, so first of all I would like to say that the amount of laps he did in three days has been very impressive, with an average of about 80 laps per day!" added team director Masahiko Nakajima. "There's no need to say that we are very happy with his attitude in all the tests held so far. At the end of this test session, Jorge is third overall and this is quite impressive for us. It means we are on the way to achieving the final goal, which is to adapt the bike to his riding style.

"Jorge showed us his talent and potential, and demonstrated that he has the ability to give us very good data and information to help in the work for next season. We are still on the way to defining the base set-up of his bike, but it is quite evident that his riding is becoming closer to that of the other MotoGP top riders. He is braking better and has better and better corner speed, and we have not found the final set-up yet!"

Lorenzo will be back out on track at Sepang on January 22, 2008.