New engine at Ilmor.

Despite poor weather on day one of official testing at Jerez, Ilmor GP rider Andrew Pitt was able to try the team's 2007 engine for the first time - and provide positive feedback regarding its potential.

"It was an interesting day for me," said the Australian. "I was trying out a new engine set-up so I would have loved to have a dry track to test it properly however even in the poor conditions I can tell that the changes have made the engine smoother and changed the way the bike turns. It feels different, the throttle feels better and I'm looking forward to really pushing it over the next couple of days."

"The 2007 engine seems to be a positive step in the right direction although we do have one or two issues to iron out," declared team manager Mike Janes.

However, Pitt still finished the wet/dry opening day slowest of all, with team-mate Jeremy McWilliams almost two seconds faster as he returned to the scene of his nasty November accident.

"The track condition today was awful, it was really wet this morning and very patchy in places even when it began to dry out which made for dangerous riding," said the Ulsterman. "It's too risky to really go flat out when the surface is so unpredictable. We only really picked up some speed in the final hour or so today. Dry weather would definitely help tomorrow.

"Even though I crashed here back at the test in November it feels good to be back - in spite of the weather - I still have a little difficulty getting on and off the bike but riding feels very natural," he insisted.

"I think Jeremy did fantastically today given his limited amount of time onboard the bike since his recovery," added Janes. "Both riders have given us some great feedback today and we have plenty of work to do over the remainder of the test."