'Nobody knows what happens tomorrow'. That was the verdict of Valentino Rossi, who qualified eighth on the grid for Sunday's Qatar MotoGP seasౠon opener but feels 12 riders have 'more-or-less' the same pace.

"I have a good pace, also with the used tyre,"  said the Movistar Yam✨aha rider, who was a competitive third fastest in final practice, the session traditionally dedicated to race pace.

"Sincerely, with a '54.3 I hoped to stay in the second row, which was my target, but unfortunately it was not enꦿough. So I start from the third row.

"Like I said my ▨pac💧e is good but I think that, looking at the pace, you have 12 riders more-or-less in the same condition!

"So nobody knows what happens tomorrow and it⛎ will be very important to understand what's happ𓆉ens in the second half of the race.

"The people that are a♍ble to keep more pace, will arrive in front."

The crucial facto♉r will of cou✨rse be tyre degradation, an issue Rossi was troubled by at the recent Qatar test.

"Yes [it's still a problem]", he confirmed. "We improved a little bit the situation but with the tyre that I l🌱ike we are very much at the limit to do 22 laps."

While Rossi qualified eighth and team-mate Maverick Vinales twelfth, satellite Yamaha star Johann Zarco once again grabbed the headlines - this time with a rec🌼ord-breaking lap for pole position.

"Zarco is 🐲not a surprise, because he is fast," said Rossi. "Last year he finished in a very good way and this year he starts where he finished off. So he's very strong and we hope to fight with him tomorrow.

"It looks like the conditions were a little bit worse - for the sand, the wind - 🌊;so it was a great lap. But also Petrucci [3rd] and Marquez [2nd]. All the people that are under 1m '54 did a fantastic lap."

Earlier in 🅺the d🎃ay Rossi had suffered his first fall of the season, during FP3.

"In that corner you have one bump that every lap💎 you are at the limit a🤡nd maybe also ther was some wind. I lost the front, but luckily all ok."

And are electronics still the main🅰 focus for the future?

"For me - in my small experience! - I feel the bike is going well, but we have to work in some other area like electronics because in acceleration we suffer a bit. But its's all ꧟the package that✤ makes the difference and we will see tomorrow."