Jonathan Rea described Friday's free practice session in Indonesia as "a disaster" after struggling with tyres at the Mandalika International Street Circuit.
Rea finished fourth fastest on the rugged track which the Co Antrim rider described as "so dirty", a lot of which can be attributed to its proximity to the seaside on the Island of Lombok.
Ducati bikes finished in the top two with Michael Rinaldo Alvaro Bautista dominating the times, and Toprak Razgatlioglu next fastest.
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Rea said: “The track has no rubber down and is so dirty, so the first session was a disaster. Because of the tyre allocation we just had to be conservative.
"I chose to only ride the last part of FP1 and even then with our normal preferred front race tyre, we destroyed it. In FP2 we focused with a different weight balance of the bike, trying to take weight out of the front to save the front tyre.
"I think front tyres are going to determine the race outcomes. In comparison to last year, so we are focusing to improve in this area a little bit, but where our bike makes the time is in trail braking and corner entry.
"And if we don’t have a stable front, then it is so difficult. So we focusing to improve in that area tomorrow. Of course, I expect the track to be better tomorrow.
"There will be more rubber down and the track will be cleaner, which will help with front tyre life.
The weekend action continues on Saturday with Free Practice 3, Superpole qualifying and then the first full 22-lap race, which takes place at 6.30am UK time.
Sunday will feature the always intense Superpole Race and then a second and final full distance Race Two.
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