Testing for the 2008 MotoGP season began today at the Valencia circuit in Spain, venue for the final GP of the 2007 season last Sunday.

The Repsol Honda factory team of Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa ran with the latest version of the RC212V V4 four-stroke while the three RC212V equipped satellite teams all paraded their new riders.

Team Gresini Honda will contest the18-round championship series with Japanese star Shinya Nakano, who moved to the team from the Japan Italia Racing Honda team (JiR), and young Italian Alex de Angelis who moved up to the senior class fresh from securing third place in the 250cc World Championship here on Sunday.

LCR Honda have contracted Frenchman Randy de Puniet for the new season while the JiR team have joined forces with Scot Honda to field former 125cc World Champion Andrea Dovizioso who finished second in the 250cc championship for the last two seasons.

The teams were able to get in three hours of practice in dry and sunny conditions at the 4.005 km Valencia track. With all new equipment the Repsol Honda team spent the day in a shake-down test, while the satellite team riders spent their time getting acquainted with their new machines and establishing working relationships and practices with their new technicians. All teams will begin serious work on the second and final day of testing tomorrow.

Honda rider quotes and lap times:

Nicky Hayden   Best lap time: 1m 33.176s - 26 laps "This afternoon we got to do a few laps on the new machine and the general feeling was pretty good. We only had half a day so I'm excited about getting some more time on the new bike tomorrow so I can give the team a lot more information. We did the first run of the day on the standard bike with a normal 16.5-inch rear tyre instead of the 16-inch one we used on Sunday and that was pretty frustrating because immediately I went a lot faster than I did all weekend on race tyres, so we'll have to work out with Michelin what happened there. Then I got a crack on the new bike. There's not so much I can say after just a few laps but the seating position is different, yet the actual riding position feels about the same. The tendency to wheelie was a lot less and the pitch of the weight, front to rear, was more controlled and not so aggressive on the brakes. We had a few technical issues with the machine so I didn't get a whole lot of track time today so we'll come back tomorrow and hopefully get a full day's testing."

Dani Pedrosa Fastest lap time: 1m 33.387s - 34 laps "The aim of today was to get a general feel for the bike and put in the first few laps so that myself and the team can become familiar with the machine. We achieved that target so it was a successful afternoon, but at the moment I can't say too much about the performance or lap times because it's early days. The speed was OK and there is a difference in how the new engine feels through the revs but again it's too early to draw any real conclusions. If we get a full day of testing tomorrow we should get a better idea of how the bike compares to the 2007 machine and where we need to focus the development. After the race win on Sunday the whole team is excited about working with the new machine and hopefully turning it into a winner in time for the 2008 season."

Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 1m 33.563s - 59 laps."It has been a good day, I'm happy. After 20 laps I started to have a good feeling with the Honda and to be just 0.4s slower than my race time on Sunday is very encouraging. I started with Carlos Checa's race set-up and only made some small changes, although I was 5 kph faster in top speed compared to Carlos. I'm impressed with the switch to Michelin, the difference in tyres is not as big as I anticipated it would be. It was positive day, no problems, although there is still a lot to understand about the Honda, and my first impression is that the motor feels much easier to ride from lower rpm."

Shinya Nakano, Gresini Honda: 1m 33.901s - 46 laps. "I'm very satisfied of today's testing, it's only the first day but I got positive impressions. We focused on testing and I'm impressed by the feeling with the rear tyre the grip is excellent. We suffered a bit from chattering with the front. We changed tyre and the feeling improved. Tomorrow we will test another tyre and we will see the difference. At the moment we haven't worked with the set up so we don't know if this chattering depends from the tyre or the setting. I'm still not confident so I lapped trying to understand the bike and the tyres without pushing too much. I'm very happy with the team, I feel supported".

Alex de Angelis, Gresini Honda: 1m 34.471s - 47 laps. "I'm very happy. I confess that I was excited and a bit nervous before going on track.  It was my first time on a MotoGP bike. Once I went on track, the tension went way and I felt much more comfortable. I appreciated a lot the power and the electronic of the RC212V, in particular I like the feeling when I get on the gas. I still have a lot to learn, in particular I need to charge more the front, otherwise the bike wheelies and I have to get used with the feeling with carbon brake. Everything is new for me but today it seemed more easy that what I expected. I'm very happy of my new team, I feel at ease".

Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Honda: 1m 34.760s - 48 laps."I found the RC212V easier to ride than my 250, the electronics control things very well. Today I concentrated on getting a good feeling with the bike and testing tyres. I tried only two different types but tomorrow we will try several more, including the same tyres Dani (Pedrosa) used in the race here on Sunday. The only difficulty I had today was coping with the engine Braking system, the feeling is so much different to my 250cc 2-stroke but I really like the machine. Tomorrow we will have a lot of track time to learn more about the RCV"