Aoyama on the Castrol Honda

Japanese rider joins Jonathan Rea in testing at Qatar

THIS is the first picture of Hiroshi Aoyama on the Castrol Honda. 

Aoyama had his first taste of the Castrol Honda World Superbike he will ride next season, testing at Qatar alongside new team-mate Jonathan Rea.

The Japanese rider is spending his time adapting to the Pirelli shod Honda CBR1000RR whilst Jonathan Rea is working on testing 2012 parts on his 2011 bike.

Castrol Honda are spending three days at Qatar, choosing the desert circuit to kickstart their 2012 preparation so to avoid the poor weather that hindered their pre-season testing at Miller Motorsports Park, Portimao and Aragon last year.

For the 2012 WSB season Aoyama will sport the number 4 plate that he used on his way to winning the 2009 250GP title, whereas Rea has switched back to his old number 65.