Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo has put his menacing MotoGP free practice pace down to a great base setting his YZR-M1 has straight out of the box at Motegi with only Dani Pedrosa able to match him in terms of race pace.

The Spaniard was denied top spot in second practice as Andrea Dovizioso used an extra-soft on his final run to nick fastest lap honours but Lorenzo was the most consistently fast on race rubber.

“We knew that here we have the chance to go faster and be more competitive with this normal, let’s say, tyre on the rear, and also in a track that last year we were competitive that has a very good grip,” said Lorenzo, speaking at Motegi.

“Today we done better than we expected, this morning I was competitive and this afternoon I wasn’t in first position because Andrea (Dovizioso) use the extra-soft at the end but it’s a real first position.

“The Yamaha is working well, probably the best bike we have had in 2014, so I am very glad to have it here. We can improve some small details in the chassis and electronic, but in general the bike is very good.”

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