Lorenzo: Podium finish was impossible

The Yamaha rider fell back to fifth at the start, and found he could not keep up with the lead battle. He did gain on Dani Pedrosa for third at the end, though, and came close to passing the Honda on the final lap.

"I am very happy with this fourth position; it was impossible to do more today," said Lorenzo.

"I tried so hard to pass Dani and the hairpin before the back straight was the only place I had the chance, but I couldn't do it."

Lorenzo reckoned a change in temperature had affected his Michelin tyres.

"Yesterday I thought I had a chance to win and I was very confident, but this morning I saw the weather, much colder than yesterday, and I knew that it would be more difficult than in the qualifying session," he said.

"The track was colder and for Michelin and for me this was more difficult."

He remains optimistic about the rest of the season, although he vowed to work on starts after squandering pole today.

"I have to improve my starts because once again I had problems and lost some places, but anyway I think I'm in good form for the last three races," Lorenzo said.