Rossi pleased to be back on front row

The Yamaha rider has not started on the front row since the British Grand Prix in June, and has seen title rival Casey Stoner establish a 60-point championship lead while he struggled for speed during recent rounds.

Rossi believes improvements by Michelin were the main factor in his resurgence this weekend.

"I'm satisfied also because in the last three races I never managed to start from the front row," he told Italia1 television.

"It's a step forward, because here the Michelins work fairly well so we managed to prepare the bike well and the qualifying tyre gave us a hand in the end.

"My lap wasn't bad but wasn't good enough for pole but it's important to start on the front row."

He said Yamaha still had to make some improvements for the race.

"We have a few problems on the bumps, as my bike moves too much, so tomorrow we'll try to make some modifications to find some stability," said Rossi.

"We had a problem with the engine braking, making my throttle be still slightly open under braking. I even went wide a couple of times, but we solved it by the end.

"We'll see what happens tomorrow, but with the racing tyres I think it will be a bit more difficult than today."

Rossi has now decided to use Yamaha's new pneumatic valve engine in the race. He had been uncertain about the engine after first trying it in post-race testing at Brno, then had his plans to run it in Friday practice at Misano disrupted by the downpour.

"I think I will (use the engine) because it goes a bit better," he said.