Toseland was fighting against a bout of bronchitis that saw him in the clinic on a drip after the practice sessions yesterday, but still somehow produced 21 qualifying laps on the Tech 3 Yamaha.
"I'm disappointed with eighth after I got a front row in Qatar but I am rough," said the reigning double world Superbike champion. "I don't like to make excuses but I am not feeling at my best at all. To be only three-tenths off the front row and eighth is a bit frustrating. I'm losing three-tenths just with the way I'm feeling.
"I feel a bit better than yesterday and hopefully my condition will have improved a bit more tomorrow for the race, but I've never taken so many drugs in my life. It will be a tough race in my condition but my guys are doing a great job and I'm sure the bike will be great.
"Jorge did an unbelievable lap but from second to thirteenth the gap is less than a second. I don't think I've ever seen anything that close in all the classes I've raced in. It is unbelievably competitive.
"We have a good direction for the race set-up tomorrow but the tyres will be critical. We are just trying to pick the best one for the endurance because the temperature is a lot higher than when we tested here. It is unusually high for this time of year and I think we could do with something a bit stronger. But everybody is in the same boat.
"Colin [Edwards, third on the grid] showed what this package is capable of but I paid the price for not feeling too great. But credit to Colin because he got the job done," Toseland concluded.
