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Dani Pedrosa says 1000cc MotoGP machines 'most physically demanding'

Dani Pedrosa has described Honda's new RCV 213V as "the most physically demanding" MotoGP bike he has ridden

The 26-year-old Spaniard made the assessment after winding up third quickest on the final day of testing at Sepang, leaving him behind his world champion team-mate Casey Stoner and Yamaha's Jorge Loreno.

Pedrosa has won races on both 990 and 800cc machinery in MotoGP since his debut in grand prix racing's premier class in 2006, but the Spaniard believes that doing so on the new for 2012 1000cc bike will be even more difficult.

"This bike is physically more demanding [than the 800], you feel the power in the acceleration, the speed under hard braking and also the extra weight, and three days of testing here in Malaysia is very tiring," Pedrosa said.

"This morning when I woke up I was pretty sore and stiff, but once I got running, it was a little better. I will keep working hard physically to prepare for the second test."

Like most other bikes, Pedrosa's machine suffered from excessive chatter during the test, leading to analyses of electronic and suspension set-ups being undertaken at Sepang.

Although the problem has not been cured on the Honda, Pedrosa said that he could feel significant progress had been made during the three days.

"It's been worth it to do a general test of the engine, chassis and tyres and overall it is the biggest test we have done on this bike and we have good data to analyse and can start to build up points we need for the second test," he added.

"The biggest point to improve is on braking, and we are also working on the electronics to improve the management of the power and the grip level. The chatter is still there, I know it's something very difficult to fix, but I'm sure Honda is working hard on it. In general, it's been a positive test for us and we will come back here in three weeks with new ideas."

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