Marco Melandri

Gp of Indianapolis

Redazione — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:42:26 +0000

Final result: DNF. “I am really disappointed with this race. We improved our pace a little but like always I was struggling so much in braking and couldn’t get the bike stopped. I wasn’t happy to just settle for the position I was in and wanted to attack Valentino but lost the front without any warning on the way into the corner. We’ve spent all season trying to fix the same problem and don’t seem able to find a way around it.”

GP of BRNO

Redazione — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:09:57 +0000

Final Result: 8th. “After a weekend to forget we had a decent race. The last part of it was good although the start wasn’t so positive for me. We struggled a lot on fresh tyres and I couldn’t match the pace of the group in front of me, so I lost a lot of ground there. Then as the fuel load lightened and the tyres came up to temperature it worked more in my favour. It was less difficult to ride the bike and I felt more comfortable. I’m still not completely happy though because I’m still having a lot of problems with the electronics and that makes it difficult for me to overtake. We need to work a lot and with more help from Honda I’m sure we can take a step forward tomorrow. ”

GP of USA

Redazione — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 06:51:02 +0000

Final result: 8th. “That was a really tough race for me. We thought we had found something good in the warm-up this morning but we made a couple more changes for the race and they didn’t have the effect we’d hoped. We also have a lot to learn about the new electronics package. The bike changed a lot as the race progressed and it was difficult for me to manage. After fifteen laps I was really struggling under braking, especially into the left-handers because I didn’t have any strength. It was important for me to get to the finish and gather as much data as possible. ”

GP of Germany

Redazione — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:10:39 +0000

Final result: 10th. “That was a particularly difficult race and I didn’t have a good feeling from the start. After around ten laps I had no more strength in my arm and I started to feel a lot of pain. There are so many left corners here and I totally lost my rhythm – all I could think of was making it to the end.”

GP of Catalunya

Redazione — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:09:29 +0000

Final result: 9th. “That was a tough race – really tough. The temperature was incredible but the heat was the least of my worries and I was struggling most of all with my condition under braking . I could hardly get the bike stopped in the first corner but my pace was good and I was hopeful of following Spies and Capirossi to the end. Unfortunately I made a couple of mistakes and I started to feel more and more pain. I was practically riding using only the right side of my body and when the front started to lose grip it was hard for me to hold on. I made one last attempt to pass Hayden at the end but I couldn’t hold it on the brakes so it was impossible. ”

After medical check

Redazione — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:14:10 +0000

“I’m going to Barcelona with the clear objective of putting the disappointments of Silverstone and Assen behind me. I will obviously have to wait and see how I feel on the bike after such a big crash in Holland but my determination to race again is huge. I have had a lot of treatment on the shoulder since Saturday and even though I still won’t be at peak physical fitness I am determined to get back out on track. I really want to build on the progress we made in practice at Assen, where we confirmed our recent progress with the set-up of the bike. I hope I am fit and able to continue the recent good work we’ve been doing so that we can have more to be pleased with by the end of the weekend.”

GP of England

Redazione — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 07:13:46 +0000

Final result. DNF. “I made a really good start but then made a mistake on the exit of a corner on cold tyres. I was behind Spies and felt I was faster then him so I attacked two or three times but couldn’t get through. Then I tried a pass on the inside but I hit a bump, lost the front and there was no way I could save it. I’m disappointed because I wasn’t even pushing that hard, I was just waiting for Spies to give me a chance to pass him. It’s a shame!”

GP of Italy

Redazione — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:47:26 +0000

Final result 5th. “We’ve struggled more at Mugello than we did in France but after the warm-up this morning I knew I was in better shape and I’m happy to have been able to produce a race like that. I honestly didn’t think id be battling with Stoner and De Puniet today because I thought they would both have a higher pace than me but we did a great job, I got a fantastic start and other than losing a little time behind Hayden my pace was good. I want to thank the team, who have suffered in silence all weekend, and this result shows that in future we can never lose faith in our possibilities in a race even when things don’t go our way in practice. Now the target is to improve during practice and make sure we’re in even better shape to race.”

Thinking back to Le Mans

Redazione — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:55:23 +0000

MotoGp is slowly taking shape slowly. Things are also taking off slowly for me as well. Le Mans was an out of the ordinary race: 30˚ and 5 days of sun in a row is not normal for Le Mans!!!
I raced well, but it’s not enough, I want more!!!
I’m convinced that I can get a little closer at Mugello, even if it won’t be at all easy.
In Italy we have a unique way of showing off the bikes to the public: when Valentino wins and acts it up it’s all incredible, the others do the same and it’s all played down. Oh well!!!
Lorenzo’s act was so cool, subtle and cutting and aimed just at the right people. Did you get what he meant? Let’s look at it together.
Passing on the bike I saw Lorenzo sit himself in front of a screen and I thought: “He’s going to savour his win.” But no!!!
Looking again, I got it: the chair was yellow…like Valentino’s. The message was: “I, Lorenzo am taking your place on your yellow chair. Shall I sit down with my popcorn and enjoy a spectacular win? No, I’ll sit myself down and watch you reach the finishing line because I’ve just passed it.” What did Valentino have to say: “I did it ten years ago.” Pathetic. Followed by: “Now, with the mono tyre there’s no difference.” This is because that they no longer just make tyres for him.
And this very statement shows that maybe Michelin had more than just a hand in it in 2004.

I don’t want to sing anyone’s praises or lay blame, but just want to share my theory that extra-terrestrials don’t exist.
We’re always and only ever nice when things are going well, we’re all human with our pros and cons. I’d really like to see Valentino on a Ducati next year, but I
think it’d be more likely that he’d head for Formula One!
Not because the “red” isn’t competitive, on the contrary it’s much more so than most think. Above all it’s hard for him to leave Lorenzo on his own in Yamaha now that he’s doing so well, it’s too too too much of a risk.

I’m sorry to see Stoner having a hard time, but I’m convinced he’ll bounce back.

It’s hard to see opinions change about a rider so quickly, I’ve been there many times and it hurts to be judged and criticised by those on the outside.
So here I just wanted to say that unfortunately more importance is paid to negative events, and I think this doesn’t do any justice to our great sport.

Now we’re heading off for Mugello, it’ll be an explosive weekend!!!

GP of France

Redazione — Tue, 25 May 2010 12:11:49 +0000

Final result 6th. “I was pretty sure we’d have a better pace today than we did in practice and that proved to be the case. We made a small change in the warm-up based on an idea that the team came up with and it worked well. Unfortunately it was quite windy today and I struggled in a few corners where we didn’t have a perfect setting for the engine braking. I’m happy though because we were able to match the speed of the front guys at the start until I made a small mistake when Hayden stepped up the pace. I tried to catch him again but I couldn’t do it and decided that was a good time to ‘pull the oars in’ and bring home an important result after such a tough start to the year. It was a good race for us and I’m happy for myself and the team.”