Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo finally got to grips with the new Bridgestone tyres on the third and final day of testing at Sepang, knocking a second off his previous best time at the end of a 22-lap race simulation.

The Spaniard, along with Nicky Hayden, struggled with the hard-compound rubber for the opening two days, saying he had no confidence but a couple of tweaks to his riding style, and to the suspension setup, have iron out some problems.

“I am very happy because today I’ve seen how fast I can ride with the Bridgestone tyres. Today has definitely been the best day for me at this opening test of the year," said Lorenzo.

"Also, we have been able to do a long run in hot conditions with 32 degrees (36 in the afternoon!), and I was able to finish 22 laps without stopping.  I was tired when I finished but it was incredible; the rhythm was good and my best lap was right at the end, when I did a 2’01.9.

"This means that I have improved over a second since yesterday and we have made a big step forward. We need kilometres under our belt and we’ve got some week! All the team worked hard up until the last minute and now they will keep going so we can try to go even better in Qatar next month. We have to continue in the same way as today, improving all the time, because we don’t have that much time until the first race!”