The two day test at Valencia was the first time that Troy and team mate Ruben Xaus rode the new S1000RR and at the end both riders left in a very positive frame of mind. Both Troy and Ruben were immediately able to get right down to business and start working with the bike and start their new challenge. Fortunately the weather was good throughout the two days and the team were able to use the maximum amount of time on the track. Now the technicians will return to the workshops to analyse all the data and prepare the bikes for the next test, but the whole team is already looking forward to the next track outing. Troy I am a bit surprised really because I didn’t think I would feel as comfortable on the bike as I did. The base is very good and although there is a lot of work to be done, I feel very positive about our prospects. Even though I have had just two days on the bike, I feel it is my bike and I wasn’t expecting that so soon. I’m happy with the progress we made over the two days and now the team have now got a lot of info and telemetry data to work with for the next test. The communication is very good and there have been no problems except that I got hit by a bird towards the end of the test. It happened between turn one and two and it hit me just under the throat, above my chest protector, and it was a pretty heavy hit. It ruined my lap and it didn’t do the bird any good either!