Vermeulen would prefer dry race

The Suzuki rider - and noted rain ace - fought for pole in qualifying before ending up third on the grid, which will be his best start since Laguna Seca last summer.

But despite his reputation for starring in the wet, Vermeulen is hoping the rain does not return for tomorrow.

"I'd prefer it to be dry, we've got a good starting position anyway," he told BBC television. "And the pace yesterday in the dry was quite good and I worked a lot on race tyre stuff because we heard that today was going to be wet, so we've got a tyre picked and I know my pace can be consistent.

"30 laps is a long way around here, but I'm looking forward to it being dry. And if it's wet, we know we're quick."

Vermeulen said he had found the conditions very tough in qualifying, especially after crashing at Redgate in the wet final practice session.

"This morning I had a big crash in the rain and I didn't go out after that," said the Australian.

"I really hurt my hands quite badly, so this afternoon was a bit of a test.

"Conditions started to dry out and it became really greasy and had to put rubber down. On my last lap, (James) Toseland fell off in front of me and it looked like he was doing nothing wrong. It's just difficult here."