Monster Energy factory rider Valentino Rossi said he is expecting a tough race as he starts Sunday’s German MotoGP at the Sachsenring from eleventh place.

The Italian went quickest during Q1 to secure a successful passage directly into Q2, however it wasn’t easy for the Italian who could only manage eleventh place on his factory M1.

“I’m doing better than at Assen, I’m more competitive but I expect a tough race tomorrow,” said the nine-times World Champion.

“My pace is nothing fantastic, but it’s not that bad either. It looks like the top four, are faster than everyone, then there’s a group of riders with similar pace. The podium looks tough tomorrow.”

Just yesterday, Rossi was explaining how he finally felt like he was getting ‘his M1’ back, however that attitude changed a little and was described rather wonderful by ‘the Doctor’.

“I would like it if my relationship with the Yamaha was like that with my mum,” he said. “Because she always says yes and is always ready to help. I think it’s closer to the relationship you have with your girlfriend, more difficult to manage because she sometimes says no. Lets say that I don’t have a great relationship with the M1 right now.”

With serious questions over what the best tyres for the race will be, Rossi, much like the majority of the field are left wondering how best to approach the race in terms of tyres.

“It’s a strange situation here, there’s confusion,” said Rossi.

“Michelin has gone for outright performance, the soft tyre offers great grip but little stability, where the hard is also different to normal, so we’ll decide tomorrow.”