Lorenzo not expecting quick return to form

The Fiat Yamaha rider had a sensational start to the season, winning in Portugal in only his third outing, having taken pole position for the first three races of the year.

But a big accident in practice for the Chinese Grand Prix, followed by another huge shunt in Barcelona that forced him to miss that race, left him needing to build up his self-belief once again.

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Lorenzo admitted the injuries and setbacks have hit him hard.

"I even thought of quitting, but never seriously," he said. "It's too bad crashing several times over your broken ankles, finding your fingers broken, suffering a lot and realizing that with these bikes you can hurt yourself very badly.

"I want to be more prudent. MotoGP bikes are taller and more powerful than the 250cc ones. If you fall you have massive momentum. To be afraid in a world as competitive as this one means finding yourself down in 14th-15th place. You can't do that."

Lorenzo had been tipped as a championship contender early in the season but has now slipped to fourth overall in the standings - 57 points adrift of world championship leader Dani Pedrosa.

And he thinks it will take him a while before he rediscovers the form that had made him so strong in the early part of the campaign.

"I'll be competitive again only at the end of the season. First I need to get more experience in MotoGP, to better understand the behaviour of these bikes and, most of all, find again confidence in myself."