Jorge Lorenzo found an🦩 improveme▨nt with his Repsol Honda after re-testing some older parts during Friday practice at the Japanese MotoGP.

The triple MotoGP champion, who has scored just two points in the last four races, declared: "Today was a positive day, maybe my best practice since I returned𒅌 from injury. From the beginning I felt more comfortable.

"We changed something on the bike from e🐷arlier in the season and we had a good day. I improved🤪 my feeling and my speed."

The progress had come from combining an ꦯolder chassis with&nbsඣp;newer developments.

"We came back to the chassis we used at the beginning of the season, but with some pieces that were put [on] through the season and this combination creates a little better feeling," he exꦗplained.

Lorenzo w🍸꧟as still only 17th on the timesheets, but felt his pace was better than his single-lap performance.

"I was more competitive on the pace than a fast lap," he said. "The others could take more profit from a new tyre. For example, Fabio improved by 1.5s💟 and I improv𝓰ed by just 0.4-0.5s.

"In pace, I am 1-1.2s slower but over an 'explosive' lap I was 1.8s. We just need to improve and take profit from the new tyre in qualifying, but the weather 🎐looks te🌞rrible for tomorrow.

"I just received a very strange [weather warning] in Japanese on my mobile, saying tomorrow it will rain ve🐻ry heavily. So we'll see how the track is tomorrow and if we are able to ride..."

Team-mate Marc Marquez was third qu🍨ickest, behind the Yamahas of Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Vinales.