I'm happy because the bike worked well. I was confident of a pole position but Nicky set a fantastic lap time ... and second position for tomorrow is not so bad.

I felt confident with the bike and I pushed harder but Nicky came with me,

We were looking for the optimal set-up of the bike for the Brno track so it wasn't until near the end of the session that I went full out,

I have a fantastic relationship with this factory and my team crew, who have worked so hard to make the M1 as competitive as it is now, and it just made sense to stay with Yamaha for another year.

The bike gives me a good feeling. Also the engine is very smooth in acceleration so I'm happy. And it's just the first day, we have another two days and we hope to do good work.

We have the 2004 M1 here for reference, which is useful. It worked well here last year; we won the race and always did fast lap times so it will be interesting to compare it to the new bike and it will help us to understand which parts have improved.