Rossi buoyed by practice form

The Italian, who is seeking a fourth consecutive victory at the Barcelona track, was only sixth fastest in the opening practice session, but went quickest of all in the afternoon.

"We've made a good start to the weekend and my bike is already going very well," Rossi said.

"This morning was okay but then this afternoon especially we made a lot of steps forward with the tyres and with the settings.

"We've got a few different options for our tyre choice and we seem to have good grip in the long corners, which is very important at this track. Now tomorrow we will continue with our work and make a final decision about tyres.

"I found a strong rhythm straight away today and this afternoon I put in a consistent run of laps - almost a half-race distance - and things are already feeling good for Sunday."

Rossi's teammate Colin Edwards was eighth in the combined times, and believed he had made good progress after an uncompetitive performance at Mugello.

"My position doesn't really show it but actually we're not in bad shape today, considering where we were this time a week ago in Italy," he said.

"We're missing a bit of traction but we've got some ideas to work on overnight and tomorrow which will hopefully help us in this department.

"Our forte is entry and corner speed so we'll work on honing those for this track and hopefully that will give us an advantage. As for tyres, nothing's really jumping out at us today but we've got three or four that feel okay so with some more laps we should be in a better position to make a decision for Sunday.

"Anyway I'm feeling a lot happier here than I was in Mugello and with any luck we can be back in fine form for qualifying tomorrow."

Rossi's only concern for the race is the heat, as Friday practice saw an ambient temperature of 33 degrees centigrade.

"It's a long race and if it's as hot as this then it's going to be a battle of physical strength for everyone," he said.