Dovizioso: Honda will have tough start

But the Italian remains confident that the new bike has 'massive potential' once its issues are resolved.

"Our problems are stability under braking and the engine's power curve," Dovizioso told Motosprint. "They are both equally annoying, also because the proportion between them changes depending on the circuit's characteristics.

"These two problems are always there, on every track, sometimes one is the worst, other times it's the other. They've never gone away. These are big problems because at turn exits you can't take advantage of the bike's potential, which is massive."

Dovizioso had already admitted that he was finding it tough to adjust to having a big role in bike development after previously driving for the satellite JiR Scot Honda squad.

He has carried out the team's programme alone for much of winter testing due to team-mate Dani Pedrosa's injuries, although Honda is bringing in Kousuke Akiyoshi to assist at Jerez this weekend.

"I've never ridden such a quick bike, with so much horsepower," said Dovizioso. "It's a good thing, because this great power highlights other problems and I haven't yet been able to understand how to take advantage of the whole package.

"I can assure that setting up and taking advantage of the works Honda isn't easy at all."

Dovizioso thinks Honda has now run out of time to cure its problems before Losail.

"I don't think I'll be able to take the whole development forward all at the same time [ahead of the first race], because we have very few days of work left," he said.

"The problems we have now, I don't think I'll be able to get rid of them from here to April 12. We'll only be able to reduce them."