MotoGP stars have mostly given the Red Bull Ring a decent bill of health after the first day of testing but Casey Stoner and Scott Redding are worried about how close some of the barriers are to the track.

Here are some of their thoughts on the site of the upcoming Austrian GP:

“Today went really well: the track has some aggressive first and second gear acceleration areas and quite long straights, so it is suitable for the characteristics of our bike, and as a result it was quite easy to lap quickly. It was great to be constantly quick on this track and, even though it’s not one of the biggest and most spectacular tracks in the championship, it is in any case interesting to lap on a new circuit,” said fastest man Andrea Dovizioso.

Casey Stoner expressed some concerns about the amount of run-off but said: ““You can’t get a much more picturesque circuit than this, it’s something very special. The circuit has some nice parts but it’s a bit strange for bikes because some of the corners don’t flow well together, which makes it somewhat difficult. In general today has been quite good, the surface is fantastic and very smooth, the grip level seems somewhat medium but we’ll put some more rubber down and get a little bit more feeling on the track.”

“It’s a particular circuit because you stay really, really fast and spend a lot of time with full throttle. Compared to the normal circuit you have a lot less corners, there are nine. Usually we have 15! It’s not the best circuit for us personally as usually we suffer a bit with top speed,” said Valentino Rossi.

Go onboard in Austria with Tito Rabat

Maverick Vinales added: “The circuit is really nice, the speed is very high and having the walls so close, you can really notice it. Beside this, the track is peculiar; it is a stop-and-go layout where the acceleration will be very important, and because of this, it may not be the most suitable for our machine, but the set-up will also play a role.

“It will be the first time here for everybody, therefore it will also be a game between teams to see who will be the most effective with the set-up and adaptation. It’s good we are making this test; at least we can set a base and work on it during the ‘Summer Break’ - otherwise it would have been very hard to arrive here without any knowledge.”

“I like the track, it really seems to suit our bike. There are a lot of straights and hard braking and the Ducati is working well here so far,” said Eugene Laverty.

Scott Redding gives his opinion on the proximity of the barriers: