Lorenzo blames “planning error” for poor Friday showing

Lorenzo was one of several big-name riders to struggle on the opening day of running at Termas de Rio Hondo, ending up 18th in second practice and 1.122s off the pace of Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales.

It means the three-time champion faces the prospect of having to battle his way through Q1 on Saturday, if forecasts of rain prove accurate.

After a tough opening round of the season in Qatar that yielded only an 11th place finish, Lorenzo said his position in Argentina on Friday was not representative of his potential, as the team mistakenly fitted his Ducati with a soft front tyre for his last run.

The Spaniard had wanted a medium tyre, and said he didn’t realise the error until after the end of the session.

“We made a mistake on planning with the tyres,” he explained. “[We used] the softer one when the conditions were not [good] for the soft. I didn’t know, I thought I had the medium.

“I didn’t understand why the front was closing so much, but then after practice I understood that we made a mistake.

“And this for sure meant we missed… not the top five, but closer than where we are now. We are 18th, but we are very close. With the right front tyre for sure we would be much better in the classification.”

Lorenzo added that he was “optimistic” of a better showing in his second race for Ducati, as he felt more comfortable on the bike during practice.

“If it’s dry we can make a good race I think,” he said. “Let’s see if we can make qualifying in the dry and we will be much further forward. I’m optimistic because I found some good feelings on some exits.

“Let’s see if tomorrow we can make another step forward, and for sure much more explosive with the right front tyre and pushing to make one fast lap.”

Dovizioso “angry” after mystery problem

The other works Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso fared little better on Friday, ending up 14th fastest after suffering an unknown mechanical issue that left the Italian rider feeling “angry”.

“We don't know [what the problem was],” said Dovizioso. “Electronics, clutch or something like that, we don't know. We're working now to try and understand exactly what happened.

“I don't think it's something big but, it's big to manage the bike because the grip is very low here. I couldn't slide how I wanted, so I couldn't decide the line and it was very bad.

“But the negative point is the position. I am angry about that because tomorrow can be wet and it's something that doesn't have to happen."

Additional reporting by Oriol Puigdemont