Aoyama, carefully, swings a leg over the Blade for the first time

Castrol Honda new-boy Hiro Aoyama got his first taste of World Superbike action during a three-day test at Qatar's Losail circuit but a bout of food poisoning slowed his start to the production racing experience somewhat.

Aoyama spent time getting to know his team and the bike before putting in some serious work on riding position. He reckons he still has work to do in getting comfortable but then he will be able to push and he has a lot to learn about the Fireblade.

"I got food poisoning before I left Spain to go for the test so I was a bit uncomfortable to start. Also, my leather suits didn’t arrive in time so I was forced to use an old one. But it was a very interesting test and a good opportunity for me to meet my new team and spend some time getting used to the new bike and the tyres," said Aoyama.

"We still have some work to make the bike more comfortable for me to ride so I was not able to push really hard. I don’t know much about the bike yet and there is still a lot to discover, so I will continue to learn, little-by-little. But the test has been really good and I hope we’ll get some new materials for the next time I ride the bike."