Melandri laments lack of grip

The MotoGP Hayate rider, who's previous worst was a 15th a fortnight ago at Mugello, could only set the 17th fastest time ahead of tomorrow's Catalunya Grand Prix.

"This afternoon we've struggled: the grip at the back seems non-existent," Melandri told Italia1. "It's like we're always in the wet even when it's dry. We have no grip, and with a half-second quicker lap I would have jumped ahead of half the grid.

"Grip at the back has always been the main problem, because also at Jerez and at other races everyone is a lot quicker than us at the start, while from mid-race onwards we are fairly consistent. So we need to improve."

The qualifying results in the last two events could mark a drop in performance for the Kawasaki customer bike, as Melandri always qualified between eighth and eleventh place in all previous races this season.

The Italian reckons this is down to the fact that the other teams are improving thanks to their factory status, while his satellite bike isn't being developed.

"Unfortunately the works entries go onwards, while we aren't able to get parts and evolutions to work with," he said. "We have what's left. But we don't complain, we give it a go. We need to improve, we know it's a difficult season for us."

Nevertheless, Melandri is optimistic the scorching weather conditions may slow some of his rivals.

"The race is tomorrow, so it's too early to get depressed. The race is tough, many riders will be finished after ten laps, so it will be interesting," he concluded.