Britain’s Cal Crutchlow has gone some way to conquering the problems he was experiencing setting a lap time on new tyres at the last Sepang MotoGP test but says he still has work to do on corner-entry stability.

The CMW-LCR Honda man ended today in eighth place and less than half a second slower than fastest man Marc Marquez. He was also under a tenth behind Dani Pedrosa, which will give the ex-footballer confidence.

“Today was better in terms of lap time, and I’m much happier with our pace on a new tyre. I still believe we can improve a lot, but I think the track condition wasn’t the best today, albeit it’s the same for everybody. I think we did well in the situation and we improved with every run,” said Crutchlow.

“We understand the bike a lot more now, and I am looking forward to tomorrow’s final day of testing on Bridgestone tyres to see if we can find a better setting for the Qatar test and subsequent race. There is still something to find in corner entry, but I’m happy enough after today’s performance.”

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