Seventh gives Melandri mixed feelings

The Italian will start seventh for the British Grand Prix after a very strong run on the privateer Hayate Kawasaki.

"On one hand I am [happy], on the other not much, because I could perhaps do a little bit better, but it wouldn't change anything," he told Italia1.

"My objective was to do better than the fourth or fifth row in qualifying - I lead the third, so it's a good leap forward.

"It isn't easy, I'm not yet very happy with the way the bike goes for the races. We struggle a lot at some places, while in others we are fairly quick. We'll see tomorrow depending on the weather conditions, it will be an important race."

Although Melandri's best performances this season, including his shock Le Mans podium, have come in wet races, he said he was not keen on the prospect of rain tomorrow.

"I want to do a good race, I don't care about the whether conditions," he said. "Having to switch bikes is always a risk, because you don't always do it at the right time. Here in the wet is always very difficult, especially if you need to start quick, because the tyres don't warm up on the left side.

"We'll see tomorrow what the weather is like. The important thing is to finish the race, because if it's wet it will be a shoot-out."