Jorge Lorenzo will settle for podium at Indianapolis Grand Prix after "nightmare" weekend

The Yamaha rider had a terrible time in practice by his standards and could get no higher than sixth in any of the three sessions.

However, after drastic set-up changes from his team, the Spaniard said that he had finally found some front-end feel under braking and was able to push hard enough to pip Dani Pedrosa to a front-row grid spot.

He does not expect to challenge championship leader Casey Stoner and his own team-mate Ben Spies - who took the top two spots on the grid - during the race, but insists that he will aim for a rostrum finish.

"It was quite like a nightmare before the qualifying," Lorenzo said. "We were lost and especially in the braking area, I had no confidence.

"Fortunately we tried a completely new set-up of the bike for this afternoon and it improved my confidence on braking so I improved the lap time so much and I got closer to Casey and Ben.

"But we are still a little bit behind so tomorrow it will be difficult to fight for the win, but at least I fight for the podium."