Lorenzo confident of front row start

The Spaniard was second fastest in the dry first session, less than half a second away from a dominant Valentino Rossi, but he dropped to tenth in a flurry of activity at the end of the second hour as he worked through setup changes.

"I felt good here today!" said Lorenzo. "Unfortunately this afternoon we changed a lot of things and we didn't have quite enough grip with the final tyre, so we weren't able to improve on the time from this morning, but anyway we know what the problem is so we're not so worried.

"I think I can be competitive here and that I can fight for the front row tomorrow."

Lorenzo, who has spent time rebuilding his confidence after a series of heavy crashes and injuries, added that he had thoroughly enjoyed riding in the MotoGP class at Sepang.

"It's very hot but it's still great fun to ride the M1 here," he declared. "You can slide the rear, which is a fantastic feeling on these bikes, and I really enjoyed myself today.

"I hope that this can continue for the rest of the weekend."