Monster Yamaha's James Toseland reckons that a hopping sensation from the front-end of his YZR-M1 is affecting his corner speed in the first half of MotoGP races but says that disappears in the latter stages, enabling him to put in decent lap times.

The two-times World Superbike Champion says he has been struggling with the sensation for a while now and it slows him right down in the opening laps which is costing him top-six positions.

“It has been a tough weekend and I'll be the first to admit that I was a bit fortunate to get into the top ten. I rode as hard as I could every lap and never gave up but at the moment I'm struggling with a problem with the front for the first half of the race," said the Yorkshireman.

"I get a hopping sensation on the front and it really hurts my corner speed. We've been struggling with it for a while now but after half distance, how the feeling comes better is unbelievable. It's almost like somebody is tweaking my bike while I'm riding because it improves so much. On lap 20 I did a 58.4, which is only one tenth off my qualifying time, so it shows how good the bike eventually feels.

"But I lose so much in the first half of the race that it really costs me. My pace in the second half of the race should be getting me in the top six. If we can solve this front-end issue then I know I can be running much higher up the field, which is where the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team deserves to be.”