Roberts frustrated by Rea's absence

Rea was lined up to ride alongside Kurtis Roberts in the British Grand Prix, but Honda's senior management in Japan vetoed the plans because they wanted him to concentrate on British Superbikes and the Suzuka 300-km race.

And Roberts seems unimpressed by the move that he believes has cost him team the chance of decent coverage.

"One of our biggest sponsors is Motorpoint, from England, so we wanted to make a fairly big splash here," said Roberts. "We thought it was a win-win situation: give him some GP time and give the sponsors a shot in the arm.

"You will notice in the last few GPs when you haven't seen much of us on TV. We needed that (for here), but we are not getting that now."

When asked for the reasons behind the decision, Robert said: "I don't know...you have to ask Honda about that decision. Honda Europe was very keen, England was very keen and obviously someone in Japan was not."

Team Roberts have faced an uphill battle this year to secure the sponsorship funds for the season, after considering withdrawing from the championship at the start of the campaign unless they secured backers.

Although they got enough sponsors to be able to finish this season, the team's future remains open - with Roberts admitting that more needs to be done to help ensure the survival of MotoGP's smaller outfits.

"It is very hard for a lot of the smaller teams in MotoGP," said Roberts when asked about his team's future.

"There are a lot of things that have to happen to make it a viable deal, some things are good and some thing aren't. We have to work on the things that aren't."