Jorge Lorenzo has claimed that his form in the second half of last season has encouraged him ahead of the 2015 campaign.

The 27-year-old failed to finish inside the top two for the first time since 2008, but the rider believes that he is capable of a title challenge next season.

"Finally third position in the championship was not bad," MCN quotes Lorenzo as saying. "I was a little bit lucky that [Dani] Pedrosa made some mistakes at the end of the season otherwise I would probably be fourth.

"But I lost second place in the championship with my mistakes in Qatar and Austin and then again at Assen. From Sachsenring I was always on the podium except for the Valencia race and this is a good signal for the beginning of 2015."

Lorenzo's Movistar Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi secured second in the rankings, while Marc Marquez took the MotoGP crown.