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)

MotoGP Official Test for premier class riders- Day 1

Rain in Spain hits MotoGP morning again

Saturday, 28 March 2009 (from: motogp.com)

Wet track greets opening day of MotoGP Official Test for premier class riders.

The first day of MotoGP testing at Jerez opened with less-than-ideal conditions for the premier class riders, with heavy early rainfall leaving the track wet. The skies had held out for the previous three days of 125cc/250cc action at the Spanish circuit.

Two days of 800cc riding conclude the visit to Jerez, commencing at 10am on Saturday and ending on Sunday afternoon, and present a final opportunity for teams and riders to fine-tune their bikes before the season-opening race in Qatar on April 12th. Sunday also sees the first head-to-head clash of the year, the annual BMW M Award, from 2.05pm.

Teams will also be unveiling their new liveries and garages throughout Saturday, with pictures available soon on motogp.com

Lorenzo fastest ahead of Sunday’s live BMW M Award session

Saturday, 28 March 2009 (from: motogp.com)

Preparing well for Sunday’s BMW M Award session – which will be broadcast live on motogp.com – Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo was the fastest rider on the first day of the Official MotoGP Test at Jerez.z.

Saturday’s action concluded in southern Spain with a Spaniard at the top of the timesheet, Jorge Lorenzo leading the way with a 1’39.791s hot lap to put him 0.070s ahead of his team-mate Valentino Rossi, who was the second fastest participant in the session.

At a circuit where he started in pole position in just his second MotoGP race last year, Lorenzo registered his best time on the 97th turn of a marathon 99 lap workout, setting himself up nicely for Sunday’s BMW M Award session, in which he is sure to face stiff competition from Rossi and Ducati Marlboro’s Casey Stoner.

Behind the factory Yamaha pair at the top of the timesheets, Stoner was third fastest on Saturday, the Australian lapping within 0.115s of Lorenzo. Stoner’s compatriot Chris Vermeulen was fourth, the Rizla Suzuki man continuing his good preseason form with a best effort 0.781s down on Lorenzo’s pace.

The experienced pair of Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) ended up fifth and sixth respectively, both within a second of topping the timesheet.

Completing the top ten were Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro) and Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda Gresini). De Angelis suffered a crash in the afternoon, despite conditions improving as the day proceeded after a wet start, but he was unhurt.

James Toseland was eleventh fastest, the Englishman looking much more comfortable on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1 machine after a nightmare preseason so far.

Hayate Racing’s Marco Melandri will be pleased to have lapped twelfth fastest, even though he was 1.369s down on Lorenzo’s best time. The Italian was not lapping in podium pace but will still be satisfied to have discovered a relatively competitive rhythm.

Meanwhile, although returning veteran Sete Gibernau was 16th overall and nearly two seconds off the pace, he was positive at the end of the day having managed to complete 39 laps despite his ongoing shoulder problem.

Hayden quickest as Stoner sits it out

The first evening of the 2009 MotoGP Official Night Test at Qatar saw relatively little action on track as rain hampered the work of the MotoGP field in the Middle East.

The MotoGP riders will be hoping for better conditions on the second two days of the MotoGP Official Night Test at Losail International Circuit on Monday and Tuesday, following a difficult first evening at the desert track.

Highly unexpected rain on Sunday morning and during the evening session, combined with relatively cool track temperatures and sand on the asphalt meant the going was difficult under the state-of-the-art Qatar floodlights, with most riders finding their work schedules restricted by the conditions.

The test commenced at 6pm local time, with Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen setting down a 2’01.843s marker early on. That time was not bettered until the last hour of the session, after a heavy downpour at 7pm interrupted the proceedings for an hour and the slippery surface slowed the riders down.

Late on the riders were able to push that bit harder and Ducati Marlboro newcomer Nicky Hayden finished top of the timesheet with 2’00.717 effort registered in the final hour of the outing.

There was good news for Marco Melandri too, making his first 2009 test appearance he was the first rider out on track at the start of the evening, with the newly formed Hayate Racing Team, and he ended up second quickest overall, marginally slower than his Ducati replacement Hayden with a best time of 2’00.867.

The top five was completed by Pramac Racing’s Mika Kallio, San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Alex de Angelis and Kallio’s colleague Niccolo Canepa, who all beat Vermeulen’s early best effort late on, as several of the MotoGP big guns stayed in their pit-boxes.

Fiat Yamaha pair Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo completed just one lap each, whilst Dani Pedrosa did not undertake a meaningful lap. Casey Stoner and Loris Capirossi’s names, meanwhile, were absent from the timesheet.

Pedrosa elected not to take any risks with his left knee still not completely healed after an operation in December. Likewise, Stoner is yet to re-test the condition of his left wrist which hindered him last season and which was also troubling him at Sepang in the first test of the year after his corrective surgery in November.

MotoGP Official Night Test at Qatar - Day One
1. Nicky Hayden, Ducati Marlboro Team - 2'00.717 (31 laps)
2. Marco Melandri, Hayate Racing Team - 2'00.867 (35)
3. Mika Kallio, Pramac Racing - 2'01.020 (29)
4. Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Honda Gresini - 2'01.074 (15)
5. Niccolo Canepa, Pramac Racing - 2'01.328 (26)
6. Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki MotoGP - 2'01.843 (6)
7. Yuki Takahashi, Scot Racing Team - 2'03.221 (18)
8. Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda - 2'03.233 (15)
9. James Toseland, Tech3 Yamaha - 2'03.417 (7)
10. Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda MotoGP - 2'03.580 (18)
11. Colin Edwards, Tech3 Yamaha - 2'03.652 (8)
12. Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini - 2'08.637 (3)
13. Jorge Lorenzo, Fiat Yamaha Team - 2'24.832 (1)
14. Valentino Rossi, Fiat Yamaha Team N/A (1)
15. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda N/A (0)
16. Casey Stoner, Ducati Marlboro Team N/A (0)
17. Loris Capirossi, Suzuki MotoGP N/A (0)