De Puniet says front row was possible

The Kawasaki Racing Team rider set the fourth fastest time of the session at Misano, just 0.037 seconds off third best Nicky Hayden.

"Fourth is not so bad but I think I could have been on the front row, all things considered," said the Frenchman.

"On the last lap, I made a small mistake in turn three, and lost some tenths, and that's why I'm on the second row. However, in practice I was going very fast on race tyres so I feel like we've got an exceptional set-up for tomorrow.

"The bike and the Bridgestones are working brilliantly and I think we're in with a strong chance of doing well."

De Puniet's teammate Anthony West was positive despite qualifying in tenth spot, after the Australian set the third fastest time in this morning's free practice session.

"I didn't manage to go as fast as I'd have liked, and it's not as good as the third position this morning, but I feel there's definitely some improvement after Brno," said West.

"This morning, everything went smoothly, no problems, but this afternoon I didn't manage quite the same times with the race tyres. I think maybe the rise in temperature made them work differently.

"Things were a lot better with the qualifying tyres this time round though, and the bike ran a lot smoother, but I still wasn't as quick as I'd like.

"No worries for the race though: I think we should be okay. I reckon I'll be able to fight far better, I usually do in the race itself, so I think I can improve on tenth."