Elias admits he was 'over-excited'

The Gresini Honda rider has taken a step forward at Mugello following an operation to ease arm pump prior to Le Mans. He looked set to challenge for the first two rows, but fell on his final lap. Elias was unhurt and took full responsibility for the accident.

"The crash was a shame because I was following Valentino [Rossi] and through the first split we were 0.00 seconds down on pole," he said.

"I felt like it was going to be a great lap. The problem is that when you know things are improving and you feel good, you can get a little excited. That's what happened to me and I was too aggressive with the bike, which caused the crash."

But he does not think the crash will harm his chances in tomorrow's race.

"Overall I'm happy because we've improved the bike a lot here, we're moving in the right direction and my pace is good," Elias said.

"I'm also pleased because I rode my best lap alone in qualifying, whereas this morning I set my best time following [Jorge] Lorenzo.

"Anyway, the good thing is that despite the crash my next best time was still good enough for ninth on the grid and if I can get a good start tomorrow I think we can have a great race. I'll be aggressive in the race too but not too much."