Pedrosa surprised by crash

The Honda rider had a high-speed fall at the Southern Loop shortly after the session's halfway point, just as light rain fell at the track.

But he was unhurt and able to get back to the pits for his spare bike, which he then placed on the outside of the front row in third.

"I couldn't feel it, I just touched the brake and 'boom', I had a big crash," said Pedrosa.

"But it was the middle of the session so I could go back and get the other bike. To finally get on the front row is good of course."

Pedrosa was still 0.7s adrift of top qualifiers Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi, and does not think he can currently sustain a competitive pace all race without improvements to his set-up.

"I think I will have to improve our pace a little bit," he admitted.

"This race is very long so it's important to be consistent, and we will work on that for tomorrow."