'Nobody knows what happens tomorrow'. That was the verdict of Valentino Rossi, who qualified eighth on the grid for Sunday's Qatar MotoGP season 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 Yamaha 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 enough. So I start from the third row.

"Like I said my pace 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 happens in the second half of the race.

"The people that are able to keep more pace, will arrive in front."

The crucial factor will of course 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 like 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 record-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 day 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 and 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."