A last-minute set-up change gave Britain's James Toseland the boost he needed to get himself off the bottom of the time sheets in this afternoon's MotoGP qualifying session at the Sachsenring and onto the fourth row of the grid.
The two-times World Superbike Champion has had a nightmare weekend so far, crashing yesterday morning and finishing dead last in yesterday's second free practice session. It looked like another bad weekend was on the cards until his crew made some adjustments to the rear of the bike, and he found the pace he was lacking.
“I made a change for the last qualifier and it was night and day difference. I found it difficult on the first three tyres and couldn’t break the 1.23 barrier. With that weight transfer problem pitching weight to the front, I wasn’t getting the best out of the extra grip from the qualifier because I didn’t have much feel from the rear going into the corners," he said.
"I need to get a decent start and hold my position in the top ten because it is a long race and it could rain. Like I said yesterday, this is a tough track. The throttle control knowledge you need for this track is unbelievable. You have got to be so precise and it is almost like you have to learn which position of the throttle you need to be in rather than where you need to be on the track. Too little throttle and you’re going too slowly in the corner and too much and you run wide or it unsettles the balance of the bike."