Hector Barbera had his first taste of his 2016 Ducati last season when he subbed for injured Andrea Iannone in red during the flyaways – but the Spaniard is finding the switch from his previous machine a challenge.

P16 on combined timings and P18 on Day 3, Barbera did a 2:00.537 on the third and final day, putting in 50 laps.

With so much different on the bike, Barbera has been and will continue focusing on the front end as he searches for the best solution for a lack of feeling, with testing next to take place at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in two weeks.

“I didn’t get on well with the front end and find the feeling I wanted – that’s the biggest limitation I have at the moment." Said Barbera

"We’ve been trying a lot of things and I tried to push but then I fell off – and I’m not a rider who crashes very often. But with this bike,"

"when I rode it for the first time at Ducati last season I suffered two front end crashes in races, and I fell off the same."

"We have to work on improving the feeling with the front. We’re trying to find the same things as we had in the bike last year," He added

"But this one is a completely different bike and we have to change tack and reset for the next test in Australia. We’re within a second even when struggling and testing is for trying things out and improving."

"We have to find the right path at Phillip Island and keep improving to arrive at the first race in the best shape."

Andrea Iannonehas settled into life at Suzuki well – going fastest on Day 2 at the Sepang test and reporting good feelings with his new bike. Although Day 3 featured a crash for the Italian – rider ok – the ‘Maniac’’s Day 2 best put him second on the combined timesheets, just behind the fastest man overall Yamaha Maverick Vinales.

With work on Wednesday focused more on race pace than outright pace, Iannone leaves Sepang satisfied with the improvements and happy with a bike he says suits his riding style.

“The day was positive and my feeling is good." Said Iannonen Today we tried to focus on the race pace,"

"finding a good balance of the bike and consistency in performance, and we improved session by session, which is positive. Also, the settings got some improvements, especially on the front; yesterday we experienced some vibrations in braking and slow corners and today we managed to find a good solution."

"Overall I am very satisfied with these three-days, we worked very well with my team and the feeling with the GSX-RR is very positive."

"Of course, we have many areas we can improve upon, but now our engineers have much data to work on and for sure we will be able to make further steps forward."

Aprilia new recruit Aleix Espargaro praised his team work during the winter as he finished the first test of 2017 at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia in P13 on both Day 3 and combined timesheets, with a 2:00.108 on the final day proving the Spaniard’s best time.

After a positive first encounter with the Aprilia at the post-race test in Valencia at the end of 2016 and then another test in Jerez, Sepang saw Espargaro complete another 125 laps, finding improvements in the new 2017 bike rolled out in Malaysia.

“I am satisfied with these tests. I liked the 2017 bike and it has some improvements compared with the one I tested in Valencia and Jerez." Said Espargaro.

"The new engine specification is an important step, although from that standpoint we still need to gain something with respect to the fastest bikes, and the frame has maintained its strong points."

"The guys at Aprilia have worked very well and we need to continue on this path for the next tests. In the afternoon of the third day I crashed during race simulation,"

"But until that point my pace was good - very close to the best. We obviously need to improve in many areas, especially in terms of power distribution and stability in acceleration, but overall our situation is positive.”

Jorge Lorenzo started off the test at Sepang International Circuit in P17 by the end of Day 1 – but shot well into the top ten on Day 2 as he got into the groove of life on the Desmosedici, only a fraction off new teammate Andrea Dovizioso.

After the bike topped Day 1 with test rider Casey Stoner - and ‘DesmoDovi’ came home second - the red machine had two further good days on the timesheets, with both Lorenzo and the Borgo Panigale factory happy with the progress.

Day 3 saw the ‘Spartan’ put in 66 laps and end the session with a best of 1:59.767 in P9 – another seven tenths quicker than his previous best as the 2010, 2012 and 2015 MotoGP World Champion learns how to dance in red.

Lorenzo was impressed with the progress registered on day 3 at Sepang despite finishing only 9th in the timesheets

"I’m happy because we’ve continued our progression and I’m getting to know and understand the bike more and more every time I ride it." He said

"We went seven tenths faster and each time we’re getting closer to my potential, but there’s still a long way to go to reach that."

"The team is very motivated and working really well. We got a lot of information to continue making the Desmosedici even better. We’ll keep working – and keep moving forward.”