Unhappy Lorenzo says front row beyond his reach in MotoGP qualifying at Le Mans

Having qualified on pole for the opening two races in 2012, the Spaniard has now missed out on the front row in the past two straights races - the first time he has done so since June last year.

Lorenzo said Andrea Dovizioso's pace on board the satellite Tech 3 Yamaha meant the front row was not possible, even if he had the potential to push harder and find time in the difficult conditions.

"I'm not happy, I wanted to be at least on the front row but it was not possible," the 2010 champion said. "Andrea was very fast today.

"I didn't make one perfect lap, [and] maybe three or four tenths could be improved with a perfect lap but the track conditions were very difficult today and it was very easy to crash and get injured.

"We are in fourth position and tomorrow I think we can fight for the podium and the victory. I will try to make a very good start."

Lorenzo's Yamaha team-mate Ben Spies said those at the top of the timesheets had simply been braver than the others, explaining that his own difficult in pushing to the absolute maximum meant sixth was a good result.

"Today was a tricky session for everybody, [and] kind of risky," Spies explained. "Finally the track started to come good but the guys who did the better lap times were a little bit more brave than others.

"With this tarmac it's hard to see if it's wet or dry in some places. We did the best we could and put together a decent lap to get on the second row. It was pretty hard to commit to 110 per cent when the track is like that so the result is good."