First day of testing for the Fortuna Honda riders at Barcelona - March 3rd 2006

The Fortuna Honda Team is back on track for the first official appointment of the 2006 season: the Irta test on the Spanish track of Montmelò.

After the hard winter pre-season test at Sepang and Phillip Island, Marco Melandri and Toni Elias face the new challenge with enthusiasm and motivation.

Marco Melandri worked on the setting and tyre testing while his team mate Toni Elias worked on weight distribution in order to improve his feeling with the bike.

Marco Melandri (76 laps, 1'44.672, 8th best time): "We worked a lot and we still have a lot of work to do to find the pace we'd like to have. All in all I'm confident, this is only the first day of testing. "

Toni Elias ( 71 laps, 1'44.702, 9th best time ): "I'm quite satisfied of today's testing on this track that is particularly dear to me because it's my home circuit. Thanks to the work done on weight distribution and tyre testing, my feeling with the bike improved and my rhythm too. I'm confident to continue improving thanks to the work with my team and Michelin techs."