Dovizioso satisfied with new Michelins

The Italian, who starred in a dice with Valentino Rossi to finish fourth on his premier class debut at Qatar two weeks ago, said that while he lapped 0.6s slower than pace-setter Jorge Lorenzo in Spain, he not been gunning for lap times and was confident ahead of qualifying.

"Michelin has brought some new tyres following our recent feedback, so today we tried a lot of tyres without looking specifically for the best lap time," said the 22-year-old. "I'm very satisfied on the tuning of the engine because the power delivery is exactly as I want it and all the electronics we have on the bike are working very well.

"Tomorrow I have to concentrate on finding better stability in the area of braking, which is still a little bit of a weak-point for us.

"This circuit is very demanding for the chassis and so this point will have to improve also, as at the moment I'm losing a little time here and there. Our potential is very high and the aim is to get the perfect set-up where I can go fast without losing concentration or fighting the bike!"