Melandri never expected such tough year

"It's been so much more difficult than I thought," Melandri told a news conference in Mugello, ahead of this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.

"I thought it would be difficult but I was ready to work hard to get good results, but unfortunately I haven't found a good feel with the bike, so for me it's so difficult to be fast.

"We tried many different solutions but nothing really changes my feeling with the bike. We tried many different Bridgestone tyres but to me the result is always the same."

Melandri has endured a dismal start to the year, having scored just 24 points in the first five races of the season as he continues to struggle to find a good feeling with the rear end of his bike.

The Italian, who last year finished in fifth place in the standings with the Honda Gresini team, believed he had found a breakthrough in performance in the Chinese Grand Prix, where he was fifth.

But his problems returned in the last race in France, where he qualified in 17th and finished in 15th position.

The Ducati rider admits he is feeling very frustrated.

"In China we found a better feeling with the bike because the track was so much better for our bike," he added. I had a good feeling for the first time. I could ride better. I was hoping to start from a good level from Le Mans, but in the end it wasn't like that.

"So I'm just being in trouble again, like before China, so it's like in the first three races. I hope to have a different start from tomorrow morning.

"This is another race and another story. I don't want to think about what kind of feeling I'm going to have so I'm going to try to jump on my bike, to try to ride and have fun.

"It's been difficult. It's been very frustrating."