Guintoli fuming at practice crash

The Alice rider lost his Ducati at high speed and, while he sustained no injuries, his confidence was dented and his bike was written off for the rest of the day, forcing him to use the spare one in the qualifying session.

"I am really angry. After this morning's slip I lost a bit of confidence," said the Frenchman.

"We have to forget about this session. Our potential is much better than fifteenth position and tomorrow morning, when we will have both bikes at our disposal, I will have to ride for as many laps as possible to find back the best rhythm."

Teammate Toni Elias had his best qualifying position of the year with a twelfth spot on the grid.

"I am happy today because I felt better on the bike and we have improved our lap times," said the Spaniard.

"Twelfth position doesn't of course satisfy me, but we have been really regular today and the race rhythm compared to yesterday has improved a lot.

"If tomorrow I will make it to start well we can achieve a good result. Usually I suffer in the first laps: I will have to do my best to stay with the fastest riders and don't lose much time."