Rossi rues qualifying incidents

The former champion has not been higher than seventh in any of the sessions in Australia so far, and qualifying saw him get blocked by Aleix Espargaro, delayed by Nicky Hayden's crash, and then frustrated by the rain shower at the end of the session.

"I was really unlucky today because with each of the softer tyres, when I think I could have improved a bit, I had problems," said Rossi.

"First it was Espargaro, then Hayden's bike on the track and then it began to rain, so I couldn't use any of the tyres how I wanted in the end."

Although Rossi surged through from 12th - after a poor start - to win in Malaysia a week ago, he is concerned that a similar charge will not be possible at Phillip Island.

"We start from the third row, which will be very hard, especially because our race pace isn't that strong and we don't have the right set-up yet," he said.

"We need to work hard tonight and tomorrow morning to try to improve. The conditions aren't good and it's a great pity because this is a fantastic track but you can't enjoy it in this cold, because it takes so long for the tyres to get to the right temperature. Tomorrow will be hard, but we will see what we can do."