Rossi Made Progress Hayden With Old Problems

Valentino Rossi hopes for further improvements on Sunday

The Ducati duo lined up for qualifying at Motegi on positions nine and ten in a row. "The ninth place is certainly not the best, because I was hoping for a launch in the second row," said Valentino Rossi, who is still of the opinion that he has worked well together with his team. "We have improved in every session and today in qualifying we have again made ​​good progress."

His 1:45.9 minutes had a good time with the Italians was a half second faster than last year. "We had a decent pace and were constant and that is positive," added Rossi. On Sunday, he can see if it is sufficient, and whether he can make up positions. "We have tomorrow and still decide which tires we use, depending on the temperature."

Nicky Hayden on Saturday fared not much better than at practice Friday. "We had to start qualifying a few problems and I came into a good rhythm, but when we got teased the soft tires, improved the grip and the bike felt better and better," he said. At the end of the Americans, however, had problems with chattering on the front, so he could conjure no more lap and finished in tenth place.

"Then they swung even the yellow flags on my last run, which helped even less. Unfortunately I did not get a good lap and had a good rhythm," continued Hayden. His team is already hard at work, however, de GP12. "Hopefully we can improve tomorrow and run a decent race."