Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo was left puzzled by an astonishing lack of grip from ihis YZR-M1 at the Le Mans MotoGP round, saying it was all he could do not to crash.

The Spaniard had 15 minutes to sort out a setup for the wet race following a surprisingly dry weekend at the French circuit but after five laps, he said the bike felt nothing like the one on which he stormed to victory in similar conditions last year.

“In the beginning of the race the bike was not the same as warm up but not so bad and I could follow Andrea and Dani. I was losing a lot in some areas of the track but recovering in others. Then after three or four laps the bike got worse and I got problems everywhere," said Lorenzo.

" In the braking because in the middle of the corner I didn't trust the rear tyre and in acceleration because the rear was spinning so much I lost nearly half a second compared to the others."

“Races are like this sometimes; last year I won by 20 seconds with a very good bike and this year was completely the opposite. The bike was completely different than last year. Last year I didn’t have any scary moments but this year I had problems under braking, on the rear, I couldn't do much more without crashing. It was difficult to stay on the bike.”