Lorenzo frustrated to miss out on pole

The Yamaha rider was a strong contender for pole in the fluctuating weather in Malaysia, but was ultimately edged back to third place by Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi.

Lorenzo felt that he had compromised his final lap on a dry track by putting too much effort into his earlier runs when the circuit was still wet.

"When I saw the track becoming dry, I thought 'I want the pole position', but we couldn't get it," he said.

"At the end, maybe doing so many laps on the wet, I didn't have the strong push in the dry, so I didn't get a very fast lap."

But the Spaniard said he was not too downcast with third place, as he believes he will be quick enough to fight for victory in tomorrow's race.

"Third position on the grid is good, though, it's important for us," said Lorenzo. "For tomorrow I think we'll have a chance and it will be fun."

The Sepang qualifying result is Lorenzo's fifth successive front row start, but he has been frustrated to fall back in recent races, having only managed fourth in the last two rounds.

The rookie is currently battling with Pedrosa for third in the championship, having closed to within 13 points of the Honda rider in Australia.