Struggling Jorge Lorenzo puzzled by Argentina track conditions

Lorenzo leads the championship having won the opening grand prix in Qatar a fortnight ago - when he also claimed pole position and set the fastest lap - but was only 14th fastest on Friday afternoon, appearing to struggle for front-end grip in particular.

The three-time champion admitted before the weekend that he was wary about how his Yamaha would suit the circuit, and he finished the day 1.240 seconds off the pace set by Honda's Marc Marquez.

Compared to other MotoGP venues, the circuit is used only sparingly, and riders spent the first session clearing dust, before track temperatures rose significantly for the second.

"The track is much worse than last year and I don't know why," Lorenzo admitted.

"There are some more bumps and less grip. It looks like our rivals are a lot better under these conditions.

"We have to understand what we can do to be fast with our bike.

"It was very difficult. This is racing, sometimes you are in the top, sometimes you are having problems but you have to see things in a positive way.

"But obviously today has not been one of my best days.

"We have some problems with this Tarmac that didn't improve like other years, it kept very dirty and not so grippy, especially in the braking, we have some problems with this bike with this Tarmac and these tyres.

"The only thing that we can do is try to improve the bike and be more competitive tomorrow."

Further complicating matters, there is a strong chance of rain on Saturday and Lorenzo is currently without a guaranteed position in the second phase of qualifying, based on sitting 12th on the combined practice times.

Lorenzo concedes that not running new tyres at the end of the second session - when most riders improved - did not help his cause.

"We didn't plan the best strategy today," he said.

"We are out [of Q2] for first time if tomorrow rains, so we have to hope tomorrow doesn't rain and we can improve in the morning the laptimes."