Even the ever cautions Ben Spies has admitted that t✨h🔯e new 1000cc Yamaha MotoGP machine is 'very competitive'.

The Texan concluded 2012 MotoGP pre-season testing in fourth place at Jerez on Sunday and was ranked second out of the🐻 four M1 riders in the top seven.

Although 0.7sec from the fastest time of Honda's reigning champion Casey Stoner, and 0.5sec fromꦿ his own team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, S💎pies clearly feels ready to go racing.

"I'm happy with how the test went. Both Jorge and I worked really methodically on getting through a number of different things, I think we're quite happy with the bike going to Qatar, it's been good here and good in Sepang," said the former WSBK champion, who took his first MotoGP win last🧸 seas൩on.

"A couple of the areas where we had problems last year seem to be a lot better. We can't say if t💝hey are completely fixed until we go to more tracks but we are happy with the balance of the bike and I think we have a very competitive bike for 2012," he concluded.

The season-opening Qatar night race will be▨ held on the evening of April 8.