Monster Yamaha's James Toseland he is sure he would have qualified in the top six during last night's 45-minute session had he not been hampered by front tyre problems.

The former World Superbike Champion made an excellent start and was right on the pace in the early laps but his hard compound Bridgestone front tyre never seemed to get up to temperature and wouldn't work with the soft rear.

“I started on a used front tyre that had done thirteen laps and I was straight into the low 58s and I thought great. I put a new hard front tyre in with my first soft rear tyre and the front never seemed to get to temperature," said Toseland.

"And when I put in my second soft rear the front wasn't so stable mid-corner. Now you can't just throw another tyre in with the new rules, so I'm really frustrated because the rear tyre was working pretty good. To do a 57 with the problems I had I'm actually pleased with that because I picked the bike up on my knee twice and I still did a reasonable lap time.

"I'm a bit disappointed because the bike was feeling good and I'm sure I could have got around the top six, but there was nothing I could do with the small issue with the front. I've got to take it on the chin and build on the progress I've made prior to the end of that session.

"If everything had gone to plan then I'd have qualified in the top ten and been looking at fighting for the top six. I'm going to need a good start and get my head down but I'm riding well and looking forward to it.”