Pedrosa content to start fifth

The Repsol Honda rider switched from Michelin to Bridgestone rubber prior to the Indianapolis race, where he qualified and finished eighth while acclimatising to the new tyres.

"I am happier than I was after Indy qualifying because we are improving all the time," said Pedrosa. "Every time I go out with another qualifying tyre I get faster, but during my last lap today I made a mistake at one corner and lost a lot of time.

"The second row is okay, it's important to get a good start here because the first corner is so close to the grid. #

"Today we tried a few different race tyres and did some good work, but we still need to make some improvements in a few different places."

Team manager Kazuhiko Yamano said Pedrosa was still exploring the potential of the Bridgestones.

"Dani is going well here, he has improved his race pace since yesterday and still has some small improvements to make to his set-up during morning warm-up," said Yamano.

"This is his second qualifying sessions with Bridgestone tyres, he is starting to understand the tyres, though he can still get faster with them at the next races. Considering this, the second row is a good result."

Pedrosa's teammate Nicky Hayden remains on Michelin tyres, and qualified in third position at Motegi.