Jorge Lorenzo has confirmed that he does not alwꦰays use an airbag system in his leathers.

Questions were raised about whether the triple MotoGP champion rode with the safety device, when there were no visible signs🍬 of an airbag deplo🐲yment following his huge practice highside at Motegi.

While airbag system💦s are currently optional, they will be compuဣlsory for all MotoGP competitors from 2018.

"Mostly, whenever I can, I use the airbag because it's safer," said Lorenzo, who has the Alpinestars Tech-Air system available. "Just in the occasions I feel I have less probability to crasಌh, I still prefer to use without.

"But ever𝓰y time I try to use the airbag more and we are working for me to feel comfortable with the airbag in all the conditions in the future."

In what way does the airbag feel less comforꦦtable?

"It has more material, more plastic inside, and it's a little b🎃it less flexible [gesturing to his shoulder area]. For other riders it's okay, for me sometimes when I feel safe enough for not crashing, I still feel better without.

"But every time I use💃 [it] more and, as it will be mandatory in tཧhe future, I will have to get used to it for all the conditions."

Lorenzo 🌞was speaking after setting the tenth fastest time during a damp opening day at Sepang in Malaysia, meaning he will have direct access to Qualifying 2 should more rain fall on Saturday morning.

"We stopped in the afternoon because the track was getting dryer and dryer, but was not yet ready to be comfortable on the slick and we couldn't imp⛎rove on the lap times this morning," explained the Movistar Yam🎀aha rider.

"The feeling today was good. I just co✅uldn't make more laps with the soft tyre, because we decided to try the hard tyre for the race, in case there was too much rain. I think today for the lap time it would have been better to stay with the softer one.

"♓I like the track, the [new] tarmac and there is no problem in the last corner. It's off-camber and on a normal track, with normal grip, it would be a big problem. But the grip is so good that even with a big [negative] banking there is enough grip.

"The only problem is some patches of water that are difficult to dry completely. Let's see if the weather is ♓dry tomorrow. But we can be competitive, because the grip of the track is ver💮y good."

Team-mate Valentino Rossi was ꦡsixth quickest, courtesy of his FP1 time.