Marco Melandri #33

Marco Melandri #33

Personal opinion: a nice guy and a good rider, had a very though year last year, he had a lot of problems with the Ducati, lets hope this year will be better for him even due I expect this year not to be to easy with a new bike and a new team without the full support of the factory.

MCN Sport: Melandri

reveals thoughts on

2009 season

Marco melandri drift

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nationality Flag of Italy Italian
Date of birth August 7, 1982 (1982-08-07) (age 26)
Place of birth Ravenna, Italy
Website marcomelandri.co.uk
MotoGP Record
Current team Hayate Racing Team
Bike number 33
World Championships 250cc - 2002
Race starts 173
Race Wins 22
Podium finishes 61
Pole positions 9
Fastest laps 16
Championship Points 1885
2008 Championship position 17th (51 pts)

Marco Melandri (born August 7, 1982 in Ravenna Italy) is a MotoGP road racer currently racing for the factory Kawasaki Team. Melandri is also a former 250cc World Champion in 2002. Melandri currently lives 2 miles away from the famous race track, Donington Park, Leicestershire, England.


Early days

Marco Melandri was born in Ravenna. He was introduced to racing by a former rider Loris Reggiani at the age of six. He came through the ranks from minibikes, motocross and then the Italian and European 125cc championship.

In 1997, Melandri won the Italian 125cc championship, also finishing 4th in European 125cc championship. In addition to his European success, he made his debut in 125cc world championship at Brno, Czech Republic as a wild card rider.

125cc (1998-1999)

After impressing in Italian and European championship in 1997, Melandri finally got his chance to compete in 1998 125cc world championship as a regular. He rode Honda 125cc bike under Benetton Honda Team. He went on to impress many as he earned his first podium in the fourth race of the season, where he finished second in his home Grand Prix at Mugello, Italy. His brilliant debut season continued when he won his first grand prix at Assen TT, Netherlands. He won this race at the age of 15 years and 324 days which made him the youngest ever Grand Prix winner, at the time. Since then, Scott Redding has become the youngest winner, having won the 2008 British motorcycle Grand Prix. Overall, he won two Grand Prix in his debut season and therefore he finished the season at 3rd position in overall standings behind champion Kazuto Sakata and runner-up Tomomi Manako.

He remained on the same bike and team in 1999, where he bid to win the 125cc world championship. He went on to win 5 Grand Prix but failed to win the championship, finishing second behind Emilio Alzamora with just a single point difference. Failure in securing his first world championship did not stop his rise to 250cc world championship in 2000.

250cc (2000-2002)

Melandri was signed by Aprilia in 2000 to replace another Italian Valentino Rossi who left the team and 250cc class for 500cc class. He was highly expected to take over Rossi's shoes and to win the 250cc world championship. However, his debut season did not start as well as the expectation. He struggled to adapt to bigger bike and higher competition. He failed to win any Grand Prix in 2000, managing only 4 podiums, all came late in the season. Despite these problems, he still finishes the season at 5th position overall.

In 2001, his performances were improving. He managed to win his first 250cc Grand Prix at Sachsenring, Germany. However, it was his only win in 2001. Despite managing to appear on the podium on 9 occasions, he never really challenged for the championship. He finished the season in 3rd position behind champion Daijiro Kato and runner-up Tetsuya Harada.

2002 proved to be Melandri's chance to shine. With 2001 champion and runner-up, Kato and Harada moved to MotoGP class, he became the strongest contender for the championship. He dominated the season by collecting 9 wins and 3 additional podiums. After challenging for world championship for years, he finally won the 250cc world title. He became the youngest 250cc world champion at the age of 20 years and 74 days until Dani Pedrosa broke his record in 2004.

MotoGP (2003-present)

After securing the 250cc world title in 2002, Melandri moved up to MotoGP class to spearhead Yamaha factory team alongside Carlos Checa in 2003. Unfortunately he had with the Yamaha a worse Bike than Honda and Ducati, and struggled to succeed for the season. He finished the season in 5th position without collecting any wins and only two third Places.

He joined Yamaha satellite team, Tech 3 in 2004 alongside Carlos Checa again. This season, he again struggled to get top results. However, he managed to collect 2 consecutive podiums, but a series of crashes and retirements kept him out of top 10 in overall standings. He finished the season in 12th position.

Released from his Yamaha contract after the 2004 season, Melandri was the surprise choice of boss Fausto Gresini to join Sete Gibernau in the Movistar Honda team for the 2005 MotoGP campaign. Melandri was remarkably successful with Movistar Honda in 2005, with a consistent run of podium finishes early in the season, ultimately taking his first two wins in the final two races of 2005 to clinch second place in the championship. In doing so, he was the first Honda rider to win back-to-back races for nearly two years, winning round 16 of the MotoGP Championship at Istanbul, Turkey, as well as the 17th and final race at Valencia. Although he never really challenged his best friend Valentino Rossi for the title, he finished the season strongly as runner-up, with a total of 2 wins and 5 additional podiums.

Melandri rode for Gresini's Fortuna Honda team alongside Toni Elías in the 2006 season. With Rossi struggling to find consistency, he was a major challenger, along with Ducati's Loris Capirossi and Honda riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa. He again won at Istanbul, despite starting from 14th on the grid. He managed further wins at Le Mans, France and Phillip Island, Australia. He finished the season in 4th position, just 1 point behind Capirossi.

In 2007, Melandri and Elias remained in the Honda Gresini team, now sponsored by Hannspree. Honda's 800cc machine was not competitive. As of the race at Laguna Seca in which he finished third, Marco lies sixth overall, with an additional podium at Le Mans . After these 10 races, works rider Dani Pedrosa is the only Honda ahead of him in the standings - he and Pedrosa the only Honda riders with multiple podiums.

Immediately after Melandri's 3rd place finish in the 2007 USA's MotoGP round, Ducati announced that he will join its factory team alongside Casey Stoner for 2008 and 2009 . But 2008 proved disastrous, with a run of uncompetitive runs often leaving him behind the semi-works Alice Team bikes of Toni Elías and Sylvain Guintoli. At Assen he qualified last and ran there throughout. Due to the poor running in the season, speculation persisted with Melandri tipped to move to Kawasaki after the summer break in 2008 to form a three bike team alongside John Hopkins and Anthony West, while his current seat was said to be taken over by Sete Gibernau for the second half of the 2008 season. However, on July 27th Ducati Marlboro team boss Livio Suppo confirmed that Marco Melandri would race at Brno, the first race after the 2008 summer break. On 19 August, however, Melandri confirmed he will be joining Kawasaki Racing Team for the 2009 MotoGP season to ride alongside his new teammate John Hopkins. He then ended the season in a lackluster 17th position.
The factory’s decision to scale down their MotoGP operation left the Italian in limbo over the winter. An agreement was eventually found, with the Hayate Racing team now running Melandri in a single-rider effort for the 2009 campaign.

Career summary

* 1996: 13th in 125cc Honda Trophy with Honda
* 1997: 1st in 125cc Italian Championship with Honda, 1st in 125cc Honda Trophy with Honda, 4th in European 125cc Championship with Honda
* 1998: 3rd in 125cc World Championship with Benetton Playlife (Honda)
* 1999: 2nd in 125cc World Championship with Benetton Playlife (Honda)
* 2000: 5th in 250cc World Championship with Blu Aprilia Team (Aprilia)
* 2001: 3rd in 250cc World Championship with MS Aprilia Racing (Aprilia)
* 2002: 1st in 250cc World Championship with MS Aprilia Racing (Aprilia)
* 2003: 15th in MotoGP World Championship with Fortuna Yamaha Team (Yamaha)
* 2004: 12th in MotoGP World Championship with Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 (Yamaha)
* 2005: 2nd in MotoGP World Championship with MoviStar Honda MotoGP (Honda)
* 2006: 4th in MotoGP World Championship with Fortuna Honda (Honda)
* 2007: 5th in MotoGP World Championship with Honda Gresini (Honda)
* 2008: 17th in MotoGP World Championship with Ducati Marlboro Team (Ducati)
* 2009: MotoGP World Championship with Hayate Racing Team (Kawasaki)

Get to know the grid: MotoGP- Loris CAPIROSSI #65

Loris CAPIROSSI #65

Personal opinion: a very experienced rider, been racing for a long time, had some good years, and some not so good years, well, some one needs to teach the young guys at the back of the grid how the game is played.

Mugello 2005 - Melandri vs Capirossi

(from MotoGP.COM)

	65
	Place of birth: Bologna
	Date of birth: 04/Apr/1973
	Weight: 59Kg.
	Height: 165cm.

The oldest rider on the MotoGP grid, Loris Capirossi has a wealth of experience and a pedigree in Grand Prix racing that few can match.

‘Capirex’ was 125cc World Champion by the age of 17, and went on to defend the title before moving up to the 250cc class in 1992. The Italian picked up 16 podiums, including 7 victories, during his time in the quarter-litre category, and switched to 500cc with Honda in 1995, where he was named Rookie Of The Year.

A first 500cc triumph came on a Yamaha at Eastern Creek in his second premier class season, but after 1996 Capirossi chose to move back down to 250cc with Aprilia. Two years later he was lifting the title in the quarter litre class, once more attracting interest from MotoGP team bosses.

Signed by Sito Pons to ride a Honda NSR500 in 1999, Capirossi picked up 15 podiums and a race win in three seasons on the Japanese two-stroke, before switching to Ducati for 2003 to ride the four-stroke Desmosedici. A surprising victory at Catalunya, along with five podiums and fourth place overall, confirmed his quality ahead of a difficult sophomore season.

In 2005 the Ducati team had a hesitant start, but the final third of the campaign marked a new phase in which Capirossi performed at an extremely high level. After a second place finish in Brno, the Italian racked up two successive victories in Japan and Malaysia as he looked to improve his championship position, although a practice crash at Phillip Island cut short his fine run of form.

Capirossi took third in the championship in 2006, and won at Jerez, Brno and Motegi. He was level on points with Nicky Hayden at the head of the leaderboard before he suffered a crash in Catalunya in the first of three consecutive races, robbing him of the chance to fight for the title.

Although 2007 was a comparatively poor year for the Italian, his final season with Ducati did see the man synonymous with the team’s MotoGP project help them to the team and constructors titles. Four podiums, including a win at Motegi and a one-two with Casey Stoner in Australia, salvaged something from the opening 800cc season supposed to bring the elusive world title to the Capirossi household.

Still probably best know for his time on the red bike, Capirossi switched to Suzuki for 2008, placing tenth in the overall standings after a difficult year. Crashes in Catalunya and Assen contributed to a run of three consecutive non-finishes, and also left a sore Capirossi at less than 100%. The highlight of his first season with Suzuki, with whom he continues in 2009, was a solitary podium in Brno.

Career

Summary

	MotoGP	250cc	125cc	All
First Grand Prix	95 - AUS	92 - JPN	90 - JPN
First pole position	00 - NED	93 - AUS	91 - AUS
First race fastest lap	00 - ITA	93 - JPN	91 - AUS
First podium	95 - CAT	93 - AUT	90 - NAT
First Grand Prix victory	96 - AUS	93 - NED	90 - GBR
Grand Prix victories	9	12	8	29
2nd Positions	14	12	8	34
3rd Positions	19	13	4	36
Podiums	42	37	20	99
Poles	13	23	5	41
Race fastest lap	10	18	4	32
World Championship wins		1	2	3

Statistics

Season	Category	Starts	1st	2nd	3rd	Tot.	Poles	Bike	Points	Pos.
2008	MotoGP	16			1	1		Suzuki	118	10
2007	MotoGP	18	1	2	1	4		Ducati	166	7
2006	MotoGP	17	3	4	1	8	2	Ducati	229	3
2005	MotoGP	15	2	1	1	4	3	Ducati	157	6
2004	MotoGP	16			1	1		Ducati	117	9
2003	MotoGP	16	1	2	3	6	3	Ducati	177	4
2002	MotoGP	14			2	2		Honda	109	8
2001	MotoGP	16		4	5	9	4	Honda	210	3
2000	MotoGP	16	1	1	2	4	1	Honda	154	7
1999	250cc	15	3	2	4	9	2	Honda	209	3
1998	250cc	14	2	4	3	9	8	Aprilia	224	1
1997	250cc	14			3	3	1	Aprilia	116	6
1996	MotoGP	15	1		1	2		Yamaha	98	10
1995	MotoGP	12			1	1		Honda	108	6
1994	250cc	14	4	2	3	9	5	Honda	199	3
1993	250cc	14	3	4		7	7	Honda	193	2
1992	250cc	13						Honda	27	12
1991	125cc	13	5	5	2	12	5	Honda	200	1
1990	125cc	14	3	3	2	8		Honda	182	1

WSBK: Shinya Nakano #56

Shinya Nakano #56

Personal opinion: A nice guy, had dissent results in MotoGP, very consistent, Hope to see more of him, didn’t have the best start of the season so far, even due it wasn’t a bad start, but can he compete with Ben “elbowz” spies and Haga?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shinya Nakano
Shinya Nakano
Nationality	Japanese
Grand Prix motorcycle racing career
Active years	1998-2008
Teams	Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki
Grands Prix	168
Championships	0
Wins	6
Podium finishes	21
Career points	1282
Pole positions	5
Fastest laps	9
First Grand Prix	1998 250cc Japanese Grand Prix
First win	1999 250cc Japanese Grand Prix
Last win	2000 250cc Valencian Community Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix	2008 MotoGP Valencian Community Grand Prix

Shinya Nakano (born in Tokyo on October 8, 1977 and brought up in Chiba) is a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He is not related to the former Formula One racer Shinji Nakano. After placing 2nd the 250cc World Championship behind Olivier Jacque in 2000, he moved up to MotoGP and had been there constantly until 2008 riding Yamaha, Kawasaki and Honda bikes. For 2009 he embraces a new challenge as he joins WSBK with an Aprilia..

Early Years

Shinya Nakano was All-Japan 250cc champion in 1998, the highlight of a long career in both 125cc and 250cc Japanese national championships. Nakano moved to international competition in 1999, adjusting to 250cc Grand Prix racing quickly, finishing 4th overall with five podium finishes. In 2000 Nakano and team-mate Olivier Jacque battled with Daijiro Kato for the title, which ultimately went to Jacque. Nakano set the fastest 250cc lap at Motegi in 2000, a record that stood until 2008 – the longest standing lap record in the series.

MotoGP

Shinya Nakano

For 2001 the Tech 3 team moved up to the 500cc World Championship, which would eventually become MotoGP in 2002. Despite semi-works machinery, Nakano only managed to finish 5th in the championship. Nakano started 2002 on a 500cc two-stroke machine, but the team was able to provide the newer 990cc four-stroke by the end of the season. 2003 was less successful prompting a move to Kawasaki for 2004.

Tech3 suffered a disastrous debut year with Garry McCoy and Andrew Pitt the team improved with Nakano on board. The team's first podium came at Motegi and two seasons of consistent results earned him a pair of 10th place championship finishes. 2006 Nakano was able to produce strong qualifying runs but less competitive races, a trait of the Bridgestone tyres. Two jump-start penalties did not help Nakano’s results. At Phillip Island Nakano started on the front row and lead the early laps, before switching to wet tyres too late and not being competitive on them.

For 2007 Nakano joined Konica Minolta Honda. With Honda/Michelin having been the strongest package in 2006 a competitive machine was expect - he did not get one. Results were thin in 2007, with only a handful of top 10 qualifying and race results. Rumors began that that Nakano might make the move to the highly competitive World Superbike Championship for the 2008 season. However, Nakano ultimately joined Fausto Gresini's MotoGP team [1], replacing Toni Elias. Bringing experience with Bridgestone tyres and Honda bikes, he had a solid if unspectacular season, scoring more points in the first half of 2008 than in the whole of 2007. At Brno, Nakano was given the factory spring-valve Honda RC212V, beginning a string of greatly improved results.

Nakano will leave the Gresini team at the end of the 2008 season, following the team's decision to sign Alice Ducati rider Toni Elias for 2009.

2009: World Superbike Championship debut

Nakano was signed by Aprilia for their return after a 3 years absence from the World Superbike Championship, and he'll be partnering Max Biaggi on their factory squad.

Get to know the grid: WSBK- Max Biaggi #3

Max Biaggi

Personal opinion: If his trophy case was as big as his ego- he would have been the world champion long ago, but all things aside, he has a chance to be in the top 5, but I doubt he will win the championship.
He seams to enjoy dirt riding, maybe he should think about moving to it? Maybe there he will have more successes?











Nationality Italian
Date of birth June 26, 1971 (age 37)
Place of birth Rome, Italy
Website Max-Biaggi.com
SBK Record
Current team Aprilia
Bike number 3
World Championships 0
Race starts 31
Race Wins 3
Podium finishes 19
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 6

2008 Championship position
7th (44pts)

Max Biaggi on the Repsol Honda RC211V
Nationality Italian


Grand Prix motorcycle racing career
Active years 1991 - 2005
Teams Aprilia, Honda, Yamaha

Grands Prix 214 Races
Championships 250cc- 1994,1995,1996,1997

Wins 42
Podium finishes 111
Career points 2892
Pole positions 56
Fastest laps 42
First Grand Prix 1991 250cc European Grand Prix

First win 1992 250cc South African Grand Prix

Last win 2004 MotoGP German Grand Prix

Last Grand Prix 2005 MotoGP Valencian Community Grand Prix

Personal information
Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi born June 26, 1971 (age 37) in Rome, Italy is a motorcycle racer who currently resides in Monaco and in the United States. He has won the 250cc World Championship four times, and finished as runner-up in both the 500cc and MotoGP championships. In 2007 he switched to the World Superbike Championship, finishing third overall as a rookie.

Career
125cc
Biaggi was more interested in soccer as a child. But in 1989, after he was given an Aprilia RS125 for his seventeenth birthday, he began his racing career in the 125cc class at age eighteen. In 1990 he won the Italian Sport Production Championship. Following his success in 125cc, Biaggi moved up to the 250cc class.
250cc
In 1991, Biaggi became the European champion on an Aprilia RS250, and that same year he finished twenty-seventh in the Grand Prix motorcycle 250cc world championship riding for the same manufacturer. In 1992, Biaggi completed his first entire season in 250cc Grand Prix for Aprilia, and finished the season fifth overall. In that same season he took his first victory in Kyalami, South Africa. The following season, Biaggi joined Honda, and finished fourth in the championship standings, including a single victory in Barcelona. In 1994 he returned to Aprilia and dominated the 250cc Grand Prix championship by winning three consecutive titles in 1994, 1995 and 1996. In 1997, Biaggi again returned to Honda, riding for Erv Kanemoto's team, and won his fourth consecutive title. Following that, he moved up to the 500cc class.
500cc
Biaggi made an impressive start in his 500cc debut, qualifying on pole, setting the fastest lap and winning his first race in the 1998 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, riding for the Kanemoto Honda team. He was also victorious at the Czech Republic Grand Prix and finished the season in second place behind the legendary Mick Doohan. Biaggi then joined Yamaha to battle against the dominant Hondas. He finished fourth in 1999, third in 2000, and second in 2001.
MotoGP
In 2002, Biaggi rode the four-stroke for the first time as development on the new motorcycle remained strong throughout the season. He won in Brno, Czech Republic and Sepang, Malaysia to clinch runner-up in the championship behind rival Valentino Rossi. In 2003, Biaggi finished third in the MotoGP championship after rejoining Honda on the Camel Pramac Pons team. It was expected that Biaggi would be one of the main candidates for the title in 2004, but a crash in Estoril saw his season begin to fade. At the end of the 2004 MotoGP season Biaggi finished the championship in third place, behind Sete Gibernau and series winner, Rossi.
Biaggi started the 2005 MotoGP season as an official factory Honda rider, joining American racer Nicky Hayden on the Repsol Honda Team with technical director Erv Kanemoto. It was hoped that continued cooperation with Kanemoto and the full factory support from Honda would make Biaggi one of the main title contenders in 2005. However, Biaggi finished the season fifth in the championship with only 173 points (series winner Rossi finished with 367).
Biaggi lost his ride for the 2006 season, his position filled by 2005 250cc Grand Prix champion, Dani Pedrosa. He negotiated with Honda, Kawasaki, and Suzuki, however, was unable to land a contract even with the backing of major tobacco sponsor Camel. On January 10, 2006, Biaggi posted on his website that he would not take part in the 2006 MotoGP season.
Superbike World Championship


Max Biaggi at WK SBK Assen 2007
Biaggi attempted to reach an agreement to race the Superbike World Championship for Corona Alstare Suzuki in 2006, but the team could not commit to equal equipment with their existing riders, 2005 champion Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama. As a result, he took a sabbatical, but on September 14, 2006, Biaggi announced he had signed to replace Corser in the team for 2007.
Biaggi began the season by winning the first race at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar and finishing second in race two. In doing so Max Biaggi became one of only five men to win their first Superbike World Championship race, and the only rider ever to win his first Superbike race and his first race in 500cc Grand Prix. He then finished 3rd and 4th at Phillip Island, Australia.
After a hard championship Max Biaggi finished third, behind World Champion James Toseland and Yamaha top rider Noriyuki Haga.
At the end of the season, Francis Batta, Alstare Suzuki Racing Team director, was forced to release Biaggi, due to the loss of the main sponsor Corona Extra, as they could not reach financial agreement. Furthermore, Suzuki decided to stop official Superbike development for 2008, instead focusing on the MotoGP championship. For 2008 Biaggi rides a Ducati 1098RS for the Sterilgarda/GoEleven team[1], teamed with Ruben Xaus. With one meeting to go he is sixth in the championship, with seven podiums but no wins. For 2009 he joins the new factory Aprilia team.

Personal life
Biaggi is also known as the Roman Emperor and Mad Max and is notorious for his difficult relationship with the press, team personnel and other riders.
Throughout his career, Biaggi is best known for his heated rivalry with compatriot Valentino Rossi and other riders. The rivalry was featured in the 2003 documentary film about motorcycle racing, Faster, in which both Biaggi and Rossi appear. In 1997, he was rumored to be dating supermodel, Naomi Campbell as they were seen boarding the same aircraft separately. This led to insults by Rossi while during some after race celebrations he rode with a blonde blow up doll that was dressed in a football jersey with the name Claudia Schiffer on the back to poke fun at the relationship. At the 2001 Spanish GP, the two riders came to blows following the race. There was an attempt to cover up the fight from the press but it was soon revealed.