De Puniet rues slow out-lap

The Kawasaki rider reckoned he lost 0.8 seconds in the first half of his final flying lap, yet qualified 0.702 seconds from pole.

"I was so confident for the fourth set (of qualifying tyres) but I had a problem during my fast lap," de Puniet said.

"My out-lap was too slow, so the tyre wasn't warm enough when I had to push harder and I lost eight tenths in the first two splits. Then, when I got up to speed, it was too late to improve my lap time to get a better spot on the grid.

"Tomorrow is going to be a close race and, more than ever, I'll need a good start to follow the leading group. I'm sure I'll be able to, though, as the bike's feeling very good indeed and the fans will be there to support me."

Kawasaki racing director Ichiro Yoda believes that the team still needs to work on their qualifying settings to get the best out of the Bridgestones.

"We are really satisfied with the race tyres, though we are still having the same problem with the qualifiers we've been having all the season, with our riders being unable to fully exploit the extra grip," Yoda said.

De Puniet's temporary teammate Fonsi Nieto, standing in for the injured Olivier Jacque, felt he made great progress today after a tentative practice on Friday, although he will start the race from last on the grid.

"Things are much better today," Nieto said. "Yesterday I was quite nervous and spent both sessions trying to get used to the Ninja ZX-RR and the tyres.

"Today, I've been much more relaxed and quickly improved my lap times. As soon as I went out on track this morning I was two seconds faster and every time I got on the bike I was quicker and more confident.

"I'm still struggling with braking and getting the most from the tyres but I've only had three hours on the bike. It would have been great to have more time to find the best set-up but I'm happy with the job we've done."

Nieto also felt that he could have achieved more with the qualifying rubber.

"My first experience with the qualifying tyres has been a bit frustrating," he said. "The grip is amazing but I wasn't able to make the most of the three sets I used.

"With the first two, the front was pushing and vibrating a lot. I improved my times a little on the second lap out with the third set but the tyre was already worn.

"Anyway, we're feeling positive for the race tomorrow. My target is to finish and it would be fantastic not to have to ride the race alone, but either way, I know it will be fun."