Edwards frustrated to fall to ninth

The Yamaha rider had been fifth in the morning practice session, but developed handling problems in qualifying.

"We made some changes to the bike and got it going pretty well this morning; it wasn't easy but we were going reasonably well and I was feeling pretty happy," Edwards said.

"We planned this afternoon to make a few tweaks to suit the track as it warmed up and at the beginning we stuck in a hard race tyre and went from there.

"Unfortunately though things didn't go exactly to plan; the bike felt quite different and I felt like I couldn't really get out of my own way!

"So then we changed back towards this morning's setting and that felt a lot better.

"With the qualifying tyre I dropped nearly a second but unfortunately it really wasn't enough today and I felt like I had some side-grip issues that meant I was lacking a bit of confidence to get in deep.

"If I had just listened to my wife today - braked a little deeper and got on the gas a little earlier - then I guess I would have found the missing three tenths..."

Yamaha team boss Davide Brivio fears it will be hard for Edwards to recover in the race.

"Colin had good potential today but unfortunately it didn't work out and he has to start from the third row," Brivio said.

"It's a pity because there aren't many places to pass here so it could be a tough race for him.

"Anyway we will try to put the best package together for him so he can try to make up the ground tomorrow."

While Edwards struggled, his Fiat Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi had his best qualifying session since June and will start second.