More work needed in the wet, says Lorenzo

The Spaniard had not ridden his M1 in the wet before, and confessed to being nowhere near the limit as he came home 16th in the special qualifying practice session on Sunday afternoon.

"Today hasn't been as good as I hoped," he said. "It's the first time I've ridden the Yamaha in the wet and everything was quite different.

"It was another thing to think about; I didn't feel so good and I was very slow today, braking too early and accelerating too late. I made some improvement in the morning as far as just getting used to the bike and tyres in the wet, but I was lacking some grip and therefore also confidence.

"This afternoon, during the qualifying, I preferred to stop and try to change things, rather than to push for no reason, so this is why my time was so slow. We've got a lot to work on and after yesterday, today has been disappointing, but as usual we've learned a lot and now I know what to expect next time it rains."

Lorenzo's team manager Daniele Romagnoli was not too disheartened by his pace, though, feeling the day had been a good learning experience.

"All experience counts and despite the difficulties it's been important to have a day like this in order to learn," he said. "Next time I am sure he will be in much better shape."