Jorge Lorenzo says beating Casey Stoner in MotoGP's Portuguese Grand Prix was impossible

Having lost ground to the rapid-starting Stoner on the first couple of laps, Lorenzo (Yamaha) began to haul the Australian in and finished the race tucked right in behind the Honda.

He says however that Stoner had too much energy and pace for him to ever mount a challenge, and that after a 'nightmare' weekend he was delighted with second.

"The bike was very good, a lot better in the race than in practice, but the only problem was Casey," Lorenzo said. "He was very strong, so for me it was impossible to beat him.

"We had a nightmare during the weekend so to be honest we didn't even expect second, but we solved a lot of our problems [overnight before the race].

"I had a problem at the start because I banged the clutch, so that was losing me time on the straight for the first laps and Casey went.

"After that the bike worked well, but the problem was Casey had something more. At the end I didn't have the energy to pass, and my only opportunity was in the chicane but it was too risky. I wanted the points from second."