Suzuki buoyant after practice

Hopkins had been fastest for much of the afternoon session before being edged back to third behind surprise pacesetter Sylvain Guintoli and championship leader Casey Stoner in the final minutes.

Team manager Paul Denning believes his rider's pace on long runs bodes extremely well for the race.

"It's been a very positive first day back at work after the summer break for both team and riders," Denning said.

"John found his rhythm very quickly and this afternoon did a 1:58.8 on his 20th lap, which is really encouraging for a good result on Sunday.

"There are still some improvements to be found in the bike and the guys will be looking at that this evening."

Hopkins said his day had been entirely trouble-free.

"We've worked hard today, and my crew chief Stuart Shenton gave me a really good set-up right from the start so all I had to do was ride the thing," he said.

"We've worked with Bridgestone to get the best tyres for Sunday and the only other thing has just been little changes here and there to get the bike right.

"We've got a few ideas for tomorrow and I'm sure they will make a difference, but for now we are happy where we are and looking forward to the race."

His teammate Chris Vermeulen ended the day in 10th place, and believes he will gain ground as the weekend progresses.

"We've only had to make a few small changes and I can do the lap-times consistently," Vermeulen said.

"We still need to get an extra half a second or more to be right up there, but I am sure we will be able to find that tomorrow and in Sunday's race."