OMNISPORT

Jorge Lorenzo's first outing as a Repsol Honda rider ended in frustration as heavy rain disrupted MotoGP testing in Valencia.

The three-time world champion agreed the surprising switch from Yamaha in June and got his first taste of his 2019 machine on Tuesday. Lorenzo ended this year's season ninth in the riders' championship after struggling with Ducati, the Spaniard missing four of the last five races after wrist surgery.

He will hope his fortunes change with Honda, who have helped power Marc Marquez to five titles since 2013.

The early signs gave little indication of how Lorenzo will fair with his new team as he could only set the 18th fastest time before the showers interrupted proceedings. Teammate Marquez - who suffered a shoulder injury at the final race of 2018 - was over a second quicker, but he could not eclipse Maverick Vinales' top time of one minute 31.416 seconds.

Lorenzo will hope for better conditions on Wednesday for the second day of testing in Spain.

Jerez will host another two days of on-track preparations for 2019 next week before a break until February.