Vermeulen keen to forget 2006 race

The Suzuki rider had started from pole and led much of last year's race, but ultimately finished fifth after a late mechanical problem.

He held provisional pole again this year until being edged back to third by Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa in the closing minutes.

But having set his best time on race rubber, Vermeulen has high hopes for the GP.

"We had pole position last year and a good race until the end, when we had a small problem with the bike that turned out to cost us a lot of lap time," he told BBC television.

"The team are working really hard this weekend. I've had a few problems, but now the bike's working awesome - and I qualified on my race tyre, so we'll see what happens tomorrow."

He believes he will have the pace to stick with his fellow front row qualifiers in the race.

"By getting a slot in the front two rows we have a chance of running away with these guys," Vermeuelen told Italia1. "No one's slow in this class."

Vermeulen's Suzuki teammate John Hopkins had been equally quick in practice, but will start only seventh on the grid after losing time in traffic at the end of the session and remonstrating with LCR Honda's Carlos Checa.