Parrish and his camerman get ready in the pits

Commentator Parrish will take viewers on a lap of the Jerez circuit on John Hopkins' Suzuki, and BBC2 viewers can see how he did on Sunday.

"No one expected the bikes to be this good," said Parrish.

"It was a privilege to ride. Now I appreciate why this year's lap times are already faster than last season."

Feature: Parrish test drives the 800cc MotoGP bike

The engine capacity of MotoGP bikes was reduced from 990cc to 800cc for this season with the intention of making the sport safer by reducing acceleration speed.

But the 2007 model bikes are already matching and even surpassing last year's times.

"I'm sure the 800s will just get faster and faster over the season as the teams continue to develop the bikes," said Parrish.

"It seems the very expensive rule change hasn't worked in slowing the bikes down as originally intended."

MotoGP fans can see full coverage of the second round of the 2007 championship on the BBC this weekend.

BBC Interactive will show live coverage of qualifying on Saturday 24 March, starting at 1245 GMT.

Full live coverage of Sunday's race can be seen on Sunday 25 March on BBC Two, starting at 1230 BST*.

Afterwards, there will be in-depth post-race analysis and interviews in MotoGP Extra on BBC Interactive.

* Please note the clocks go forward this Saturday evening.