Lorenzo impressed by Michelin's wet pace

The Spaniard was fifth fastest in the second, wet, free practice session, which was dominated by the Michelin-shod Hondas of Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso, and the Estoril-winner was encouraged by the times set on the French rubber.

"Today has been a bit strange because the conditions between the morning and the afternoon were so different!" he said. "This is one of my favourite tracks and I've been looking forward to riding the M1 here for a long time and finding out if I could be fast again here like I was in 125 and 250.

"This morning in the dry we tried many different tyres with Michelin and then this afternoon in the wet again we had the chance to try some different things. It seems that Michelin is especially strong here in the wet and if it's like this all weekend then we have the possibility to be quite strong.

"We need a bit more time to be fast in the dry here but, from looking at the times and the data, I think we can be competitive if the weather is good as well."