Rossi believes fourth flatters his pace

The Yamaha rider spent a considerable amount of time working with the Yamaha engineers in his garage attempting to improve his race set-up before arriving at his evening media briefing wearing dark glasses.

"I think we are a little more slow than fourth position," Rossi said.

"I think we have a lot of riders very close and I think (Casey) Stoner has a good pace, Colin (Edwards) is not so bad, then there are four or five riders very close.

"With the qualifying tyre I lost some time and lost the front row, but I have more problems with the race tyre.

"I am consistent, but I need two or three tenths more. In two or three corners I am not so fast, feeling with the front entry (speed). Yesterday was very bad, today is a lot better for me."

Rossi is also concerned about the rain forecast for tomorrow afternoon's race.

"If it is wet, we have not a lot of experience with this bike in the wet," he said.

He added that he was apprehensive about Le Mans' tight first corner, especially in the light of the opening lap accidents at the last two races.

"Turn 1 here is very difficult because it is a difficult, difficult corner every lap," Rossi said.

"It is very important to make a good start and a (good) first corner and two or three laps because a lot of riders are very close. This year I make some good starts, so it's important to stay in front."

The former world champion also reiterated his dislike of the 2007 tyre limitations of 14 fronts and 17 rears per rider per weekend - believing he could solve his handling problems if the tyre allocation was not restricted.

"I have two options for tomorrow." said Rossi. "I have to decide it. I have one tyre with some positive things, and the other tyre has some other positive things so if I don't have these regulations, then I may have a better tyre."