Bradley Smith took a huge leap forward as he improved his pace by 1.5s on the second day of the official
MotoGP test at Sepang, but vowed: 'I won't be getting carried away'.
The Tech 3 Yamaha rider's fastest lap on Wednesday of 2m 01.931s was 1.3s behind Dani Pedrosa's top time on the Repsol Honda as Briton Smith continues to grow in confidence.
The 22-year-old rookie is working on altering his riding style to suit the YZR M1 after two years in the Moto2 class, but the signs are evident that Smith is already finding his feet.
Smith, who was eight fastest overall on Wednesday, said: “Today's performance and the final lap times makes me feel really happy but I am not going to get carried away.
“I am happy with the job I have done and to be so fast on such a long and technical track is great for my confidence.
“But I know reducing the gap to the leading group will be very difficult. There's still a long way to go but it is nice to be so much faster than yesterday and to see some real progress,” he added.
“A lot of it is down to trusting the bike and having the confidence to ride it to the absolute limit to get the best out of it.
“I'm not at that point yet but each time I go out I get a better feeling.
“It never feels easy on these bikes and you don't get time to rest, but when it becomes more like your friend then you start making steps forward.”