CWM LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow has made being competitive his first priority at the upcoming first Sepang MotoGP test but says there is a lot of familiarisation to do before fast laptimes appear.

The British rider, who has spent the winter in America, reckons that getting his head around 200mph speeds is a job for the opening laps and then to work on being a close to the top of the timesheets as possible.

"I always take the first test as a familiarisation exercise. Sure, once you are up to speed you can start to give good information to the team but I like to build it up over the three days and get my speed more than anything. You have to get your head around going 200mph again. My priority is to make sure I’m competitive and as close to the front as possible, then we’ll see after that,” said Crutchlow.

"Sure the bike is going to be a factory spec machine. You are never going to get exactly what Dani and Marc have got, because they are the factory riders, but you get close and you get enough, it was very similar when I was at Tech3. You are always one step behind. But I’m excited to see what Honda bring out and they always bring out a fantastic motorcycle which is competitive."