Elias confident he will return to form

The Spanish rider, who last year scored 104 points and two podiums with the Honda Gresini team, has endured a poor start to the year with the satellite Alice team and their Ducati bike.

Elias is currently in 16th place out of 18 riders, having scored just seven points, with a 12th place in Estoril as his best result to date.

But the Spaniard says he feels the support from Ducati and Bridgestone, and is optimistic he will be able to recover from his poor start.

"It's been really tough," Elias told a news conference ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix. "My situation is not easy. But we know the way, we know what is the biggest problem. We are working a lot. After Estoril we improved a lot. We'll see what happens here.

"But I'm confident. I believe in Ducati, I believe in Bridgestone. I feel support from both of them. I believe a lot in the potential of this bike. I'm sure in a few races I can be much more faster than in the first part of the season.

"I'm really happy, because although I'm in a satellite team I feel the support from Ducati. Last week Ducati gave me the opportunity to visit Ducati Corse and it was really important for me because I could explain my problems to (technical director) Filippo Preziosi.

"It was a really interesting day and it could be good. I'm confident, I'm really confident."

The Alice rider believes the Shanghai circuit should suit his bike better than Estoril, and he is hopeful of a strong weekend.

"I think this track is much better than Portugal for our bike. We will see what happens. I hope we work well. It could be a good race."