"It's still too early [to judge the impact of the pneumatic valves], we'll have to see in the future," added the 2006 world champion. "We've got a lot of work to do with the '08, but we're going about it in the right way. We've got a base that's not too bad."
Herring said that teething issues with the new engine were to be expected, but is confident that the benefits of the air-operated valves, as already used by Kawasaki and Suzuki, will soon be seen.
"The team is new to this type of [pneumatic valve] engine," he said. "It's just technology moving forward. Honda, in years gone by, has had some projects that have worked and some that haven't.
But, either way, the engineers have learnt from it. I'm sure all the research was done in advance to prove the benefits of the pneumatic valves.
"I think, coming here to a fast circuit, we thought it was going to be a bit more of a struggle, because after the Valencia test it was clear that the new engine needed a lot more work, but this test has just got better from the first morning. And the good thing about a completely new machine is that, as you saw from the start of this year to the end of this year, there's lots of scope for development.
"It's obviously a long way off the first race at the moment so there's an awful lot of work still to go into the new bike - and probably one of the biggest improvements expected will come from Michelin," Herring revealed. "They are really, really putting a big effort in - a lot more staff and a lot more tyre options to test."
Indeed, with Honda's two main
MotoGP rivals - Stoner and Yamaha's
Valentino Rossi - both using
Bridgestone tyres next year, the Repsol team has the chance to gain a grip advantage... providing Michelin can respond to the Japanese brand.
