Dani Pedrosa returned to his pre-2010 position as Honda's top rider during Friday free practice for his home Spanish Grand Prix.
The #26, who faded from first to seventh in the Qatar season-opener, benefitted from some a new stiffer chassis - designed to counter the stability problems he has been battling - on his way to a competitive fourth place.
“We tried a new chassis today and there is an improvement in some areas which meant we could finish the session not too far from the front,” said Pedrosa, who was within half a second of fastest rider Casey Stoner (Ducati).
“There seemed to be a lack of grip today though and we need to look at the data and work out if the problem is our set-up or just the condition of the track. We haven't found all the solutions we're looking for with the new parts on the bike yet, so we need to work hard in tomorrow's two sessions and try to qualify well.
“Every race is important of course, but because this is my home race I really want to do well on Sunday,” added Pedrosa, who won the 2008 Spanish MotoGP and was second to Valentino Rossi last year.