Lorenzo to try Dovizioso's set-up in Qatar

The three-time world champion has had to make major changes to his riding style in his switch from Yamaha to Ducati, which included finishing the first day of testing at Sepang down in 17th position.

He has made gains since then, and set the fifth-fastest time in Qatar on Friday.

But having finished the opening day 0.797 seconds off the pace set by Dovizioso, Lorenzo says he will try the Italian's set-up on Saturday to see whether there is something to be gained, particularly under brakes.

"In terms of setting we're not very good for the moment," he said.

"Dovi's bike is very, very different so we're going to try also his way to see what happens and let's see if we make a huge improvement.

"Still I haven't found the way to profit the strong point of the bike, that is stability in braking.

"Dovi with his experience and his way of riding for the moment is much better."

Having also been outside the top 10 on the first day at Phillip Island last month, in 11th place, Lorenzo acknowledged he is finding it easier to adapt to different circuits the more time he spends on the Ducati.

While he was ultimately shuffled down the order on Friday, he also took encouragement from spending time at the top of the standings as part of his "good result".

"We led the classification for a while, that's the first time [with Ducati], so we have something to celebrate," he said.

"Obviously, the other ones improved a little bit more than me on my lap time, especially Andrea, [Maverick] Vinales and some other riders and again we are eight tenths slower than the first one.

"But now the first one [in the order] is a Ducati so that's a good sign."