Rossi not happy with set-up yet

The reigning world champion was third fastest in the session but nearly half a second slower than team-mate Jorge Lorenzo.

He puts some of that time down to not yet having found a good brake balance and is confident he can close the gap in Saturday morning's sessions.

"The first practice was not so bad but we had some problems, especially in the braking," said Rossi. "We are not strong enough and suffer quite a lot with stopping the bike.

"This track is difficult for braking so we have to find the right balance. But we have some ideas for tomorrow and we hope to be more competitive.

"My laptime is not so bad for the first practice but we have some disadvantage and we have to improve the base. The work we do in practice will make the difference so the first target is to arrive on Sunday with a good setting."