Fan favourite Tommy Hill's luck didn't change at last weekend's Assen World Superbike round as the Althea Honda man ran out of fuel in the second race and also discovered he has been on the wrong tyres.

After solid practice sessions, where Hill found himself inside the top ten on one occasion, he made it into Superpole and ended up 17th on the grid in front of factory riders Shinya Nakano and Ruben Xaus.

In the first race, Hill lost the front four corners into the race and then, bizarrely, ran out of fuel in the second leg. Speaking to bikesportnews.com this morning, he said: "I don't know what went on with the fuel situation. I don't know if they measured it wrong or what but it was disappointing.

"On Sunday I was talking to Kiyo about the tyres and asked him what he ran for the races. He said he ran the B-compound and I asked about what he thought about the tyres I ran. He said they were far too soft. I thought they were the hardest compound available, so I have been running on the wrong ones!

"We're making progress, though, and I have been learning a little bit of Italian and the team is beginning to get to grips with my explanations of what the bike is doing. It's quite hard but we will get there.

"I am doing as much as I can off the bike to help me through the season and I'm not dwelling on mistakes that we have made. I am pressing the reset button after each round and going into it fresh.

"We should be OK at Monza because even though I haven't ridden there, our bike is quick at the top end and we even had to wind some of the power off for Valencia and Assen."