Stiggy Honda's Leon Haslam reckons that top speed could be a limiting factor at this weekend's World Superbike second in Qatar but suggested his team may have some tricks up their sleeve.

The former British Superbike rider also still has concerns over front tyre life, especially in the blistering desert temperatures, but says he will have to find the right tyre and suspension setup.

Writing in his exclusive bikesportnews.com column, Haslam said: "The problem here is the last corner before the long straight is tight, so we will all be going at the same speed and I won't be able to gain anything with corner speed. It's probably the place where we will struggle the most because even at Monza, you are coming off a fast corner.

"Also, the start/finish line is a long way down the straight. If I am in a battle on the last lap, I'll need a good half a second to stop anyone getting a tow and slip-streaming past across the line and that comes into my race tactics."

READ MORE OF HASLAM'S COLUMN HERE