Former double MotoGP World Championship runner-up Sete Gibernau admits he's finding it difficult to stay motivated at the tail end of the field.

After two seasons in retirement, Gibernau has returned to grand prix action on a satellite Ducati for the newly formed Grupo Francisco Hernando team.

The Spaniard kept his expectations publically low before the start of the season, but after failing to crack the top ten in either qualifying or race results after seven rounds - two of which he missed due to a fractured collarbone - he's finding it hard going.

“I must admit that after competing at the front of the field for so many years it is not easy to be this far back and stay motivated,” said Sete, who has 30 premier class podiums to his credit, including nine wins.

“Hopefully we've hit the bottom and the only way is up. The team deserves to pull out of this situation - we're working harder than ever and we'll keep giving our best to achieve a top result,” he added.

Unfortunately for the 36-year-old, he was only ranked 15th out of 17 riders during Friday free practice at Laguna Seca, a track he finished fifth and tenth at during his two previous appearances in 2005 (Honda) and 2006 (Ducati).

“I was pretty skeptical about coming here because for some reason or another I've never got on with this track,” he said. “I have started to enjoy it a little bit today though and there were a few corners where I started to feel more comfortable on the bike. Hopefully tomorrow we can take a step forward and begin to improve our results.”