Vermeulen aims for another podium

The Australian, who finished second in last year's event, sees no reason why a few improvements to his bike cannot help them rediscover the form they showed in 2007.

"I was looking forward to coming back here as it's a track we've had success at on the Rizla Suzuki, and it's a track I really enjoy with its character being so different to the European circuits," said Vermeulen.

"Today was quite difficult though and we struggled quite a bit to get a good feeling with the bike. We made some steps forward this afternoon and went quite a bit quicker and closer to the front, but we will have to make some more of those steps tomorrow to get right up there.

"Hopefully we'll be able to do that and make sure we are challenging for the podium come Sunday."

Teammate Loris Capirossi's form was hampered by the continued pain he is suffering from his recent hand injury - and he confessed to looking forward to the three-week break coming up so he can rest it.

"This track is very physical and quite a bit harder for me to ride on than at Sachsenring, but I worked hard with the crew to make the bike work the best for me around here and in the end we found a solution that was not too bad," said the Italian.

"I really want this weekend to pass in the best possible way and then I can get three weeks rest. It is really hard for me because every time I ride I have to have treatment on the wound to clean it and then have it dressed, but I want to do my best here so I will block it out and be as strong as I can!"

Suzuki's wild-card rider Ben Spies admitted his confidence had been dented by a spectacular crash in first practice, but was eager to get on with more practice on Saturday.

"It was a good day today as a whole," he explained. "Obviously the crash this morning hurt my confidence a little bit, but I got faster the whole session this afternoon and a couple of tenths quicker would have put us right up there, as it is so close.

"I think we can build on this and get faster and faster all weekend and I'm really looking forward to it."