Lorenzo says 10th was his maximum

The French tyre manufacturer has lagged behind rival Bridgestone in both wet and dry conditions, with Lorenzo qualifying at the back of the field and only managing to make progress up the order in the closing stages of the race.

"This race is a bit sad for me because we have the potential to do a lot better," Lorenzo said. "However considering what has happened this weekend and, above all, the problems with the front tyre, I think we have done almost as much as we could.

"At the start I didn't want to take too many risks and I could feel that the front tyre was getting worse on each lap, but on the other hand the rear tyre was getting better each lap."

Lorenzo now hopes that Michelin can make a breakthrough in the post-race test.

"I know that we have had had problems this weekend but I know that Michelin are working very hard, so now we will try to use the test to make some improvements," he said.

Team manager Daniele Romagnoli praised Lorenzo's pace in the circumstances.

"Today we couldn't have done any better than this, but we can't be satisfied to finish tenth," he said. "But overall Jorge did a great job and a good race, and he was able to find a good rhythm in the middle part of the race, continue until to the end and pass many riders, plus he was able to score some valuable points.

"Motivation in our team is still high because we have many more races to do and tomorrow at the test we will start again to work very hard with Michelin, look at the problems we have had here and try to find a way to improve things for the remaining races."