Elias meanwhile is on target to easily able to beat his 2009 best race finish of ninth and has his sights set on battling the title contenders.

"To be perfectly honest, that was probably the toughest session of the weekend so far, but in the end we met our objective, which was to secure a place on one of the front two rows,” said the San Carlo Honda Gresini rider, who also has a factory RC212V.

“Sixth place gives us a good chance, my pace is decent so I hope to get a good enough start to be able to follow Rossi and Stoner because I think we have the potential to stay with them. They're really quick but we have to give it a shot.

“I truly think we have the chance to give them a race tomorrow and we can't afford to let opportunities like this pass us by. We have worked hard so far this season without much reward so hopefully this weekend will be the turning point for us. We've made good progress but now we have to back it up,” he declared.

Providing Lorenzo is confirmed as fit to race, Sunday's front row will consist of Lorenzo, Rossi and Stoner, who are also the only riders to win races so far this year.