Monster Yamaha's Cal Crutchlow says he is disappointed to miss out on pole position for tomorrow's Motrgi MotoGP round as he feels he had the pace to pip stablemate Jorge Lorenzo to top spot.

The Isle of Man resident found a stack of pace in Japan overnight after struggling through the opening brace of practice sessions but gradually upped his game in free practice three and then bagged a front-row start in qualifying earlier today.

“In the first two practice sessions I was struggling just to make it inside the top 10 and today I was fighting for pole position, so my team did a great job. I'm actually a bit disappointed not to get my first pole position because I felt today was a good opportunity to get it," said Crutchlow.

"I was fast right from the start of the session and I felt much more confident with the hard rear tyre, so that is a big bonus for the race. To be honest though I am not sure whether to race the hard or the soft rear tyre. I haven't made a final decision yet and maybe I'll have to flip a coin.

"The pleasing aspect today is that I am not only fast but I'm also consistent, so hopefully I'll be in the podium fight tomorrow, which would be a great way to start this busy period to the end of the Championship. It is great to see the YZR-M1 so competitive here in Japan, so hopefully all four of us can put on a good show for the Yamaha fans tomorrow.”

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