BMW's new-boys Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus have finished two days of testing the new S1000RR superbike at the Spanish Valencia track and both have declared themselves happy even though the Aussie hit a bird while on a fast lap.

The bike is brand new but has undergone extensive tests by Jeremy McWilliams and Steve Martin, and now it falls to the two WSB veterans to turn it into a winner.

"I am a bit surprised really because I didn’t think I would feel as comfortable on the bike as I did. The base is very good and although there is a lot of work to be done, I feel very positive about our prospects," said Corser.

"Even though I have had just two days on the bike, I feel it is my bike and I wasn’t expecting that so soon. The team have now got a lot of info and telemetry data to work with for the next test, but I’m happy with the progress we made over the two days.

"The communication is very good and there have been no problems except that I got hit by a bird towards the end of the test. It happened between turn one and two and it hit me just under the throat, above my chest protector, and it was a pretty heavy hit. It ruined my lap and it didn’t do the bird any good either!"

Xaus added: "I am very happy with the bike - how it handles, how it turns and its power. It is very stable at speed and it is not a physical bike to ride and already I’m pretty comfortable on it.

"Troy and I have different riding styles and that means we are giving our team a lot of info and data for them to analyse before the next test. Troy has experience of riding twins, three cylinder and four cylinder bikes, so was able to get dialled in faster than me, but that’s what I expected. Everybody in the team is working well together and I feel very positive and happy about our future."