250GP graduate Yuki Takahashi may have spent both days of the
Jerez test at the bottom of the timesheet, but the Team Scot Honda rider believes he's starting to understand the RC212V.
Jerez was Takahashi's second ride on an 800c four-stroke and, while unable to match the heroics of former quarter-litre rival Mika Kallio, the Japanese cut almost 1.5sec from his best time during the two days.
That still left him nearly 3.5sec from the front of the 14-rider field and Takahashi, who has inherited
Andrea Dovizioso's seat, admits the 'real fun' will only come when he's gained sufficient confidence.
"My goal here was to ride as much as possible, to do as many miles as possible, always working to better understand how the bike reacts to technical changes, because the whole package is new to me," said Yuki.
"It wasn't appropriate to try too hard here just to seek a quick lap time, especially because next year we will have a new motorcycle. This morning we didn't ride because it was cold and damp. Even this afternoon when conditions were better it wasn't worth taking any big risks.
"At Valencia, after the last race of 2008, I rode without really using the electronic controls, but here I started working with the set-up of the electronics," he revealed.
