Blimpie Suzuki rider Mat Mladin qualified third on Friday with a time of 1:36.934.

"We spent today sorting through a lot of race preparation stuff rather than trying to just set a single fast lap time here today," said Mladin. "The team has been working hard to cure the handling problems that I've had lately and we have made some good improvements, especially with the front suspension, while we still need to work a bit more on the rear. The most noticeable problem that we had out on the track today was that we were down on speed, especially to the Hondas. We?ll see what we can do about it, but I think it will be hard."

Like others, Mladin wasn't exactly pleased with the condition of the circuit.

"The track surface is quite terrible at the moment," added Mladin. "At a number of points around the circuit there is this rubbery black sealer stuff that is coming up through the joins of the bitumen and making things very difficult. You really have to pick your line through some of the turns to avoid crossing the strips as they are quite noticeable and unsettling on the bike."