Stoner expects very tough race

The championship leader was beaten to pole position by Nicky Hayden, although the Honda rider used a very soft Michelin qualifying tyre for his lap.

Stoner was fastest in all three of the free practice sessions, but reckons the rest of the field has closed in on him in Portugal.

"It's going to be very, very difficult race here," he told Italia 1 television.

"We've got a lot of competition and there's a lot of riders doing some very consistent lap times.

"We've got another good grid position so maybe we can have another good result tomorrow."

The Australian can clinch his first title if he out-scores Valentino Rossi by 15 points in the race.

But Stoner said he was keeping thoughts of the championship at bay and just focusing on winning the Grand Prix.

"We'll find out it's a special race after the race, not before," he insisted.

"I still have to concentrate and try to win another race. We'll see, but we still have some races to go before the end of the season."