The ePayMe Yamahas have rolled out of the pitlane for the first time in Cartagena today (Thursday) as John Hopkins and Stuart Easton had their first taste of the YZF-R1s with the American comparing the feeling of his 2016 contender to the last time he raced a MotoGP machine.

Team Owner Tommy Hill has been keeping a watchful eye on the pair as they exited pitlane for the first time and although the morning sessions at Cartagena have been short, the Californian is already feeling excited about the potential of the ePayMe Yamaha.

Hopkins said: 

"The first outing was basically about getting rider set-up, the entire morning we have done three timed laps due to the sessions, but within those I really love the bike - I absolutely love it. It feels like a proper race bike. There were a few minor adjustments we had to make in the morning to sort out levers and footrests and things like that but the actual bike itself feels amazing; the power delivery, the chassis, the only thing I can remotely compare that to is back riding the latest version I rode back in 11/12 on the MotoGP bike.

"The way it feels and the rigidity of it, I felt riding last year's bike I had the quote that it felt like a proper race bike. To me, this feels like even another step and such a nice proper race bike. I feel there are a lot of things that can be done from where we are at now at this point, which is really good. We can fine tune and adjust to suit each track with more time but my initial feeling is really, really good."