Suzuki expect to be faster in race

Hopkins - who celebrated his first MotoGP podium finish in the last round in China - qualified fifth and had been fastest of all in the final free practice session.

"John has done a great job to secure a second row start, but fifth place doesn't fully reflect the work he has put in," Denning said.

"The most encouraging thing is that his long runs on race tyres have been incredibly consistent and very fast.

"Anything is possible once you are in the front group and John's worked really well with his crew to get the Rizla Suzuki the best it can be around the Le Mans circuit. Hopefully it will pay off tomorrow."

Hopkins was similarly confident about his race prospects.

"We did quite a long run this afternoon and got a good race pace going that felt really comfortable," he said.

"I got a good rhythm and made a point of riding on my own and doing things my own way.

"On the qualifiers I gave it my all and I am happy that we made it onto the front two rows because it's going to be really crucial to get a good start tomorrow. I need to be in the front pack from the start.

"Hopefully it will be dry for the race and we'll go out and just give them hell."

Chris Vermeulen was half a second slower than Hopkins on the second Suzuki and will start 12th. He blamed traffic, and hopes to gain ground in the race.

"I was a little bit frustrated at the end of qualifying as I didn't get a clear lap on my last tyre," Vermeulen said.

"It's a bit annoying, but you get that on tight tracks and it's all part of racing.

"We made a lot of progress this morning and I was consistently faster lap by lap. I was within half a second of the fastest rider on race tyres all session this morning, and again this afternoon I was right up there. The bike has improved and my crew has worked really hard to get it right for here.

"Fourth row is not an ideal starting position, but I've had good results from further back than that. It's just a matter of getting my head down and catching those front guys."