Loris Baz says his race was ultimately ruined by Jorge Lorenzo's first corner crash in Argentina as he was forced to run off track to avoid the stricken Spanish rider.

Baz was one of the first riders on the scene after Lorenzo collided with the rear of Suzuki's Andrea Iannone under braking for turn one and had to take avoiding action off track to miss the factory Ducati rider.

"I'm disappointed because I think that we missed a great opportunity," Baz said. "I lost all chances when Jorge crashed in front of me and I was forced to run off the track to avoid running over him."

Similarly, Lorenzo felt he was fortunate to be missed by Baz at turn one having also been missed by the rest of the train of riders behind the Frenchman: "Luckily I'm OK. Baz almost touched me and almost ran over me, and I was lucky about that."

The Reale Avintia Ducati rider bridged a considerable time gap to Jack Miller and Karel Abraham but it came at the expense of his Michelins as tyre wear worked against Baz and he was unable to take his charge further than 11th by the chequered flag.

"I lost too much time and although I gave my best to recover when I caught Miller and Abraham, my front tyre was destroyed, so I couldn't attack.

"It is a shame because today I had the pace to be with Folger and Petrucci. But overall the weekend has been quite positive, my team did a superb job and we improved every time I went out. I hope to be lucky in Austin."