Marlboro Ducati's Valentino Rossi is happier with his qualifying performance despite crashing early on and having to use his number two bike but says that tyre choice will be crucial at Sepang tomorrow and he will leave it until the last minute.

Rossi lost the front going into the bumpy turn nine which he says is now usual and that is another problem to fix and is dropping a majority of his time in the final sector - some six tenths on his last qualifying lap.

“Today went better. I was able to ride more effectively, although the fall was really a shame because it was the usual type, which means that we still have to solve that problem. In addition, that wasted some precious minutes, and I had to use the second bike, which I didn’t like quite as much," said The Doctor.

"We’re pretty good on most of the track, but we lose a lot — six of the nine tenths in our gap to the front — in T4, especially on the exits of the last two hairpins. Anyway, our pace has improved, especially with the hard tyre, although to tell the truth, the choice for the race won’t be easy. We’ll make the decision at the last minute after evaluating tomorrow’s conditions, and it will really be crucial. I’m expecting a hard race as is always the case here at Sepang, where the conditions are extreme, but anyway, I’m happier than yesterday, as I’m able to ride better.”