On the second day of testing at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia, CWM LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow made yet more progress as he continues his adaptation to the factory Honda RC213V he will race in this year’s MotoGP World Championship.

The Briton has steadily improved his pace over the winter test programme, discovering every aspect of the bike as he and the team prepare for the opening race of the season in Qatar in March.

Rain had affected yesterday’s first day of practice, and although the track is normally at its best first thing in the morning, today the riders found that the downpours had made grip levels worse.

As such, Crutchlow set his best lap of the day once the stifling humidity and peak temperatures of 33°C had subsided late in the afternoon. He made a quick run on new tyres on his 61st and final lap, to set his best time of the test so far - a 2’00.333.

Cal Crutchlow #35, 8th (2’00.333, lap 61 of 61)

“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.”

“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.”