Monster Energy factory Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi has revealed he is confident in his qualifying pace, although he still has to decide what tyre he will run for the race in the tropical conditions in Buriram.

The Italian ended the opening day in fifth fastest, with four of the top five made up by Yamaha riders, with the Pramac Ducati of Jack Miller the only thing breaking up the Iwata factory’s dominance.

Rossi said that his YZR-M1 is working well with the soft tyre, which leads to fantastic time attack pace, but there is more work to be done to decide on both the front and rear tyres for the race.

“It was a positive day because all the Yamahas are at the top, they are strong, we are fast,” said the 40-year-old.

“Especially when we put in the softer tyres for the time attack, the bike worked very well. In terms of race pace, we suffered a bit more.

“Our opponents are very strong, but for the pace we have some more problems, so we need to work and to find the right tyre for the rear.

“We need to find the way to remain constant for all the race because it will be very hot and very hard for the tyres. For the time attack we are very fast.”