Lorenzo cautious despite past Le Mans record

Jorge Lorenzo began the Jerez MotoGP weekend hopeful of delivering his first front-running performance as a Repsol Honda rider, at one of his favourite tracks.

Instead he faded from second to 14th over the course of free practice, qualified eleventh and finished twelfth, 18s behind race-winning team-mate Marc Marquez.

The misery continued with two falls at the post-race test and Lorenzo starts this weekend's French round still seeking his first top-ten finish on an RCV.

The good news for the triple MotoGP champion is that Le Mans has been one of his strongest circuits, with five wins in the premier-class... but after the Jerez troubles, Lorenzo unsurprisingly remains cautious for the weekend ahead.

"After a tough weekend I am pleased to be able to get back on the Honda without too much time between races," Lorenzo said.

"In the past, I have gone well in France but we will need to see how this weekend goes.

"The test we had on Monday after Jerez was productive and importantly I was able to get more time on the bike which should help us to understand and improve.”

Lorenzo's top priority is to solve braking discomfort on corner entry. The incentive is clear, having made dramatic progress after overcoming a similar issue at Ducati last season.

“The bike is transferring too much weight to the front and it’s difficult for me to have enough energy in the arms," Lorenzo said on Sunday at Jerez.

“This gives me [an unsafe feeling] into the entry of the corners. I’m losing a lot of time compared to Cal and Nakagami, and of course to Marc. Until we improve this problem, we will not go fast.

“For sure I can improve a little bit my riding. Every time I ride I will learn some things.

"But the bike itself, for my riding style, needs to give me something more, in terms or ergonomics, to not get tired in the braking, and in terms of confidence, chassis, engine brake, or engine, so I can enter faster into the corners.

"Now I’m losing too much speed."

Lorenzo, whose pre-season was shortened by injury, is currently 14th in the world championship with eleven points.