Rossi not surprised by pole lap

The world champion deprived his Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo of pole position with a stunning late lap, 0.6 seconds faster than Lorenzo had managed. With few riders having improved their times in the closing stages, Lorenzo had looked a very safe bet for pole prior to Rossi's surprise effort.

"I decided to stay out because with these conditions you need to try to understand what's going on and what the bike does," Rossi told Italia1.

"Lap by lap I was going very quick and I knew I had good potential, so at the last lap I decided to give that little bit more and I managed that.

"I'm happy, it's a good pole, and it's important for tomorrow. Let's hope it'll be dry."

He said that as well as gaining confidence throughout the session, his Yamaha team had also managed to make the bike increasingly quick.

"I'm very happy because we've done a good session and we've worked very well on the bike with the team," Rossi said.

"We've done two or three modifications that have given me a bit more grip and some better feeling especially at the rear."