Analysis: How Honda is trying to rescue Pedrosa

Pedrosa - who finished last season on a high with two wins in the last four races, after overcoming the problems he had with his forearm - hit reality head-on after the first pre-season test of 2016.

The Honda bike was not as strong as expected, and in theory not in the state that he left it following the Valencia test, following the final race of the 2015 season. And then it all started.

Too many things came together for the Spaniard: a new engine - with the counter-rotating crankshaft - that he did not enjoy, the delay in setting up the new electronics and, to top it all, tyres that were as hard as a rock and that to this point don't give him any confidence.

That mixture of problems is reflected in the result of this season, one of his worst in the decade he has been in MotoGP. With 12 rounds completed, Pedrosa is fifth in the standings, 90 points behind the leader, Marquez, his teammate in the works Honda team.

His best results until now have been two third places in Argentina and Montmelo, and under the current circumstances it doesn't seem likely that he will extend the streak of taking at least one win per season that extends all the way back to his debut season in 2006.

Aware of the difficulties the Catalan is having to run close to the top positions, Honda's chiefs have moved to try to rescue him, and are working hard after having showed their support by renewing his contract for another two years.

In recent practice sessions, it has been common to see Shuhei Nakamoto, HRC's vice-president, following all the moves from the engineers working on Pedrosa's side of the garage very closely.

Obviously, the Japanese squad has not forgotten about Marquez, who is at the head of the standings with a comfortable advantage (50 points), but right now it is the team's second rider who needs all the support to get through his current rough patch.

"I'm feeling all the support from Honda," explained Pedrosa at Silverstone when asked about the special attention he is getting from Nakamoto lately.

"There are two riders and Marc is doing better than me, who is having a tougher time, so they are trying to help me. What they want is for both of us to be quick."

Honda team boss Livio Suppo added: "If Dani can't extract all his potential, which we all know is very big, it's because there are problems, and we try to do everything to help him.

"The important thing is that he feels we believe in him. It's normal for us to get closer to a rider who is having a tougher time.

On top of its own resources, Honda has also asked Juan Martinez, ex-chief mechanic of several top riders including Sete Gibernau and Nicky Hayden, to offer his point of view.

"I just give my opinion about the more general topics, never about the technical side, because Dani has his team, which is very good," Martinez told Motorsport.com.

Concluded Suppo: "Juan is a person that Dani really values, and who is ideal to give his opinion in certain moments. He gives his views on certain things. But obviously he is not involved in setting up the bike."