Pedrosa to continue despite discomfort

The factory Honda rider was slowest of all in the morning and could only improve to 16th later on, but said that Michelin's uncompetitiveness was a more significant problem than his injuries.

"My left wrist and index finger are still hurting when I ride the bike, and the tyres are not helping the situation," he said.

"The asphalt is new, but it's the same situation for everyone. We have tried several different solutions today and so far we still haven't found the right tyres for the race.

"We will keep working tomorrow, looking for the best tyres and working on the machine. We hope we can get some more dry track time and then we will see for Sunday."

Team manager Kazuhiko Yamano is confident that Pedrosa, whose teammate Nicky Hayden is missing the race due to an ankle injury sustained at the X Games, will be able to cope with his discomfort, and is optimistic that the tyre problems will ease.

"Dani is still feeling pain from his left hand injury," Yamano said. "But he can ride and we believe that the situation will get better.

"We are having some difficulties with tyre choice, Dani is lacking contact feeling here, especially from the front tyre. His crew have made some small adjustments today, mainly to the suspension. We hope he will be in better shape tomorrow."