The 2006 world champion's best time, of 1min 38.940secs, was a fraction under his best qualifying lap at the GP - which had placed him fourth on the grid - but 0.261secs behind the best lap time on day one of testing, set by
Jorge Lorenzo.
Hayden left
Jerez happy with his chassis set-up, although engine power remains a concern. Repsol Honda is still using the '07 spring valve engine, while development continues on the '08 spec pneumatic-valve powerplant - which HRC's factory team is due to test after Estoril.
"Everything went real smooth," said Nicky. "We did a lot a work with Michelin, tried to check a few tyres' durability, and I was able to string together a few high 39s on race tyres, which we were pretty happy with.
"We also tuned the bike a little bit, tuned the rider too, worked on a few things, and overall it's been a real positive day. We've got the chassis working good, now we need to work on the engine because we're coming up to some tracks with big long straightaways," he warned.
Third behind the Repsol riders on Tuesday was Vermeulen. The Australian, who was caught out by a tyre gamble during the GP, recorded a best lap time of 1min 40.184secs, placing him 1.244secs behind Hayden but 0.592secs in front of team-mate Capirossi, who snatched a daring fifth at the final turn of Sunday's grand prix.
Former
MotoGP rider Jacque was one second slower than Capirossi on the lone ZX-RR present during day two of testing, while Costes was 0.7secs behind the Frenchman.
Practice for the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril, round three of the 2008 MotoGP World Championship, begins on Friday April 11.
