Qualifying tyre inexperience costs West

The former 250cc and Supersports rider had set top ten times in the wet practice, but found it harder to acclimatise to the MotoGP bike in the dry today, especially on qualifying rubber.

"It's hard getting only two hours in the dry and there's a lot to learn," said West, who replaced Olivier Jacque on the eve of the British Grand Prix.

"I've never used a qualifying tyre before and didn't know what to expect. It felt... different!

"I didn't know how hard I could push it and now I know I wasn't pushing hard enough.

"I've had a bit of trouble with the front: the bike wants to wheelie all the time and I've got to change some aspects of my riding style to suit the ZX-RR.

"Tomorrow, I hope to finish and maybe try to get further up than I am now. It's not so bad, though. I normally go faster in the race itself and I'm sure, once I get to follow some of these guys, I'll learn a few things."

West's crew chief Fiorenzo Fanali said the team were very satisfied with the Australian's performance so far.

"Anthony did very well indeed: it's the first time he's used a qualifying tyre and that isn't easy," said Fanali.

"Our target is for him to finish the race and he was very consistent on race tyres.

"We will keep taking it step by step and I think he's going to improve quickly. We just need a little time."

Randy de Puniet qualified the lead Kawasaki in eighth, but admitted to being slightly disappointed with his position.

"I hoped for a bit more in qualifying, and I'm a bit disappointed about being on the third row, but another rider was on my line in the last corner and I lost a little time," said de Puniet.

"Still, I'm happy with the race tyres and we've achieved a good set up. I'm just hoping for a good race, like the one in Barcelona, and aim to be in the top eight: it's a hard track, though, and there are a lot of laps."