Casey Stoner says an inability to get heat into the hard Bridgestone tyres has put him onto the back foot heading into the remainder of the Italian Grand Prix as he struggled to match the pace of his key rivals during Friday p🔴ractice.

The Australian began the day with a run to second position in FP1, but he was a considerable seven tenths back from Jorge Lorenzo, a margin he could only reduce by a further two tenths in FP2 a😼s he slipped to sixth place overall.

Struggling to find a set-up capable of getting heat into the hard tyres, Stoner admits he and Repsol Honda will have to try a different directionꦓ on Saturday if they are to get on terms with Lorenzo and team-mate Dan🌠i Pedrosa.

"We haven't had a great day and aren't too impresꦗsed with our pace on the bike," he said. "This morning we began very far off the pace and slowly mad🌠e our way forward.

"This afternoon we were trying to get the hard tyre to work, but every time we went out it didn't work so we came back in to try somet♏hing diffe🏅rent and then go back out but it was still the same.

"We can't seem to get the same tyre temperatures that the othe💞rs are getting at the moment, we're trying♚ to find it through different set ups, but we haven't found it just yet.

"We have som🔯e thinking to do tonight and will try to come back tomorrow with something different."

Stoner completed jus💎t three consecutive fast laps this afternoon, compared with eight for Pedrosa and 14 for Lorenzo.

Stoner trails Lorenzo by 20-points after falling last Sunday at the Sachsenring. German winner Pedrosa is betweenಌ them, 14 points from the top.