Rossi wants fully wet or fully dry race

Qualifying day has seen remarkably changeable weather, with showers constantly passing over the circuit, but the track drying rapidly between the downpours.

The MotoGP began on a damp but drying track, was then hit by more rain near the halfway point, before drying substantially in the final minutes.

"For sure it's the worst conditions for the qualifying practice - to start with wet, then come in dry and in the middle of the practice to rain a lot," Rossi said.

"But at this track with a lot of wind, it can dry a lot, lot faster, so it's very difficult."

Rossi, who is chasing a sixth successive Mugello GP win, was only eighth when the rain struck, but improved to third after the sun emerged.

"I was a little bit unlucky because when it started to rain another time I was eighth and the situation was quite bad," he said.

"But at the end, we tried with the full wet and we found a very good tyre and we were fast in these conditions, and so I'm quite happy on the full dry and on the full wet."

In an earlier interview with BBC television, Rossi had admitted he was concerned about his prospects if the weather stayed changeable.

"I think we have a good potential on full wet or full dry. In the middle, we have some problems," he said.