Struggling Rossi expects tough race

The multiple world champion struggled for speed throughout the session and his Yamaha team spent much of qualifying tinkering with the set-up of Rossi's bike. 'The Doctor' is also carrying a shoulder injury, which causes him pain under heavy braking.

"This morning was a bit of a disaster!" said Rossi, who had been an even worse 11th in final practice. "This afternoon things were a bit better but we are still not that fast.

"Unfortunately, with the softer Bridgestone tyre at the end for my fast lap, I made a small mistake and lost half a second. Otherwise I think I could have been fourth.

"Now we have to start from the third row and the start of the race will be very important because I have to improve my position and stay with the leaders.

"We have some ideas and we will use the warm-up to try to find a way to improve our pace. It will be a hard and long race, but we will do our best."