Honda's 2018 RC213V MotoGP effort is a special piece of kit, according to LCR jockey Cal Crutchlow, whose new one rocked up at the Valencia test on Monday from the same batch as those delivered to the Repsol Honda garage.
Crutchlow was first on track with the bike - which has a completely new engine and chassis - but alternated between it and his 2017 version. The new bike is a first version and Crutchlow says there will be more revisions at subsequent tests.
"We are very positive that HRC has given us a new bike this early. We haven’t done too much setting-wise because we only got our hands on it yesterday and we've set it up very much like our normal race bike. Just as a reference, and then we'll go from there. Ever since I first jumped on it I've felt quite good," said the Coventry rider, speaking at Valencia.
"They are trying to make the new bike easier to ride, but keep our positives, which is mainly corner entry. I think they've done a good job because essentially what they have brought is a different engine, different chassis. Basically a completely new bike. They will for sure make changes to it. But if you look at it, it's special. No doubt about that."
