Dani Pedrosa says he has not given up on beating Honda team-mate Casey Stoner to victory in the Valencia Grand Prix, but admits he needs to make significant set-up improvements if he is to challenge the world champion.
Stoner claimed pole position today by just over a second over Pedrosa, who starts second.
Asked if there was any hope of him managing to fight with Stoner on Sunday, Pedrosa replied: "I'll try to do it. Today I had not such a good feeling on the front end and I was not so strong on the braking and entering the corners. I'll try to improve it and get a better feeling for tomorrow.
"I don't know if we can be so fast. But this is a place I like and I have a lot of motivation with my fans out there."
Pedrosa won at Valencia in 2007 and '09, and starts the race four points behind teammate Andrea Dovizioso in their battle for third place in the final riders' standings.