Lorenzo not expecting to fight in front

The Yamaha rider, still trying to fully regain his confidence after his big crash in Barcelona, enjoyed a better day than yesterday, when he admitted he was surprised by his lack of pace at one of his favourite circuits.

The Spaniard fared better in today's qualifying, however, and will start from the second row of the grid.

Lorenzo said he was feeling stronger today, although he believes fighting for a podium finish will be difficult.

"Today was a bit better than yesterday and I felt stronger, even if the improvement is still not what I hoped for since Donington," said Lorenzo.

"With race tyres we still have some problems, although it was better than yesterday with a new setting, but with my Michelin qualifying tyres I was able to push more and seventh is not so bad for us today.

"The front riders are very fast here and we know that to stay with them is going to be very difficult, but I have more confidence today and so I hope that I can be at least in the top seven. If I can do this I will be happy.

"We still have to go step-by-step and if I can improve a bit again tomorrow then I hope to be able to push more within the next two or three races."