Dovizioso upbeat despite fall

The Italian dropped his Honda RC212V at the start of qualifying and lost significant time in the session.

"The crash didn't hurt me at all because it was at very low speed," he said. "I was at a high angle of lean and the front end simply washed away. The only thing the crash affected was the loss of time, which was important to us.

"I do have to work hard tomorrow but I think my pace in the race has very high potential. There are lots of riders who I feel are on similar times."

Dovizioso is eager to make a good start, but admits the first corner of the Shanghai circuit will make gaining positions difficult.

"The start will be very important because I'm in the area of the grid that isn't the best. But also, the first corner isn't one where you can brake late and take many positions. It's a long corner so it's difficult to do that.

"This is why my key target is a good rhythm in the race and to use the good work the team has done on race set-up over the last two days. But we all realise we have to do better in qualifying in the future."