Melandri expects no quick fix

The Italian is unsure of when he will receive any of the new parts which are being developed for the works riders, but he is hoping for a better showing this weekend at Le Mans.

"The thing for us is that HRC has so many problems," he said, "so the main target for Honda is to fix the factory team.

"At the moment my bike is the same as in China, but I think this track will be less of a problem for us. I feel better here."

The winner of last year's French Grand Prix added that he has been trying to get Honda to improve his bike since the winter, but he has had little success.

"I've been explaining my problems to Honda, I've been telling them all winter," he said. "Maybe I talked to the wrong person in Honda because there are so many.

"It has been difficult, and I thought a satellite bike would be at a better level than it is."

Melandri feels that his bike will be in better shape than it has been recently, as he has made a different tyre choice to cure chatter problems.

"I don't think we'll have the same amount of big chatter as we had in China," he said. "We never had that before, and I don't think we'll have that now, so that should be one step forward."