Jorge Lorenzo made headlines with some 'really competitive' lap times when testing a Mercedes F1 car in October.

But the five-time world champion feels an entry in the legendary Le Mans 24 Hour sports car race is a 'more realistic' post-MotoGP possibility.

Speaking exclusively to Crash.net, the 29-year-old said: "Racing cars is something I could do more properly and more often when I retire from MotoGP.



"Three years ago here [in Abu Dhabi] I raced with a Ferrari 458. That's the top car I have competed in, but I would like someday to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

"That would be more realistic than a season in Formula One."

Lorenzo revealed that his lap times around Silverstone in the 2014-spec Mercedes had compared very well with team regular - and newly crowned world champion - Nico Rosberg, although track conditions were different.

"I couldn't arrive at the limit [of the F1 car]. We had just four or five hours. But being a MotoGP rider I didn't go so slow, I was quick and I did a great lap time," Lorenzo confirmed.

"The team was impressed and I was impressed because I was quicker than Nico's lap time. But we don't know the conditions of his test, because Nico drove the car for the first time in the winter so maybe there was some wet patches.

"But to be able to be close to that level made me proud because I only had a few hours of experience."

The Spaniard added that downforce was among the greatest challenges in extracting the full performance from the title-winning F1 machine, while the bottom of the car clipping the track also felt 'unnatural' at first.

"What surprised me was that I was touching the bottom of the car on the ground on the straights," he explained. "When I passed over the bumps it was touching everywhere and I didn't expect that. This is normal, but it didn't feel very natural and then I got used to it and afterwards they put the ride height higher to avoid this touching.

"Then what surprised me was the downforce in the fast corners. You go faster and faster and then you enter the pits, see the telemetry and Lewis or Nico were going 30km/h per hour faster and think, 'how is that possible?' Then you try to be faster but your foot doesn't allow you to! Your mind says, 'okay, press the throttle more', but your foot goes in the opposite way! This is the most difficult thing."

The new factory Ducati rider is also aware that there is a big difference between a fast lap time and actual racing.

"It is one thing to make one single lap, with new tyres, and it is another to make a one and a half hour race with other cars around you and with the grip dropping from the tyres. That is the more complex thing I think for a motorcycle rider when they are adapting to cars."

John Surtees remains the only person to win grand prix titles in both 500cc/MotoGP and F1.