Melandri Back on Kawasaki in MotoGP

Kawasaki Racing's Marco Melandri testing in Valencia,
shortly before Kawasaki pulled the plug on their MotoGP team.

Kawasaki announces that after constructive talks between Kawasaki, Dorna and other involved parties, a new one-rider Team will participate in the 2009 MotoGP Championship season.

This decision was made after negotiations that followed Kawasaki’s January 2009 announcement to suspend its factory supported MotoGP activities due to the economic crisis. Rider for the new MotoGP team will be the Italian Marco Melandri.

The team will be equipped with Kawasaki motorcycles and supporting materials.

That Kawasaki has come to this new team approach is the result of on the one hand the need for a strong reduction of MotoGP racing investments and on the other hand the necessity to come to constructive solutions for all related parties.

The new team will disclose more details about its 2009 season’s plans on a short notice.

Courtesy of Kawasaki Racing

2009 Gresini Racing - Honda RC212V

Technical Specifications

• Model: Honda RC212V
• Overall lenght: 2.050 mm
• Overall width: 645 mm
• Overall height: 1.125 mm
• Wheelbase: 1.440 mm
• Road Clearance: 125 mm
• Weight: over 148 kg
• Engine type: liquid-cooled four-stroke DOHC 4 valve V-4
• Cooling System: Liquid
• Displacement: 800 cc
• Maximum Power: NA
• Frame type: Twin Tube
• Wheels: Bridgestone
• Front (inch): 16,5
• Rear (inch): 16,5
• Suspension: Showa
• Front: Telescopic fork
• Rear: New Unit Pro Link
• Fuel tank capacity: 21 litres
• Lubricants: Castrol
• Sparks plugs: NGK
• Tyres: Bridgestone
• Chain: RK

Riders Complete First Ride In 3-day at Sepang

A three-day test at the end of last week, held at the Malaysian circuit of Sepang, saw riders from the MotoGP field for 2009 returning to action for the first time since the 'winter' test ban.

Off-season testing has been reduced compared to previous seasons thanks to the new single tyre supplier rule, as the teams have less requirement for experimentation with their new provision of Bridgestone rubber. This development in MotoGP has helped to significantly reduce costs for the teams and allowed them to concentrate fully on their 800cc machinery itself.

Coincidentally, the man to finish the Sepang test at the head of the timesheets was the first rider to win the MotoGP title on Bridgestone tyres, Ducati's 2007 MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner.

Australian Stoner is returning from surgery on his left wrist undertaken in November of last year, meaning that he kept his workload to a minimum over the three days, but as he gradually regains his fitness he is still capable of rapid lap times -as he demonstrated on Friday and Saturday.

The 23 year-old finished the last day just under a tenth of a second quicker than his closest rival, reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi, with a time of 2'01.043 - well inside Dani Pedrosa's 2008 pole position record time of 2'01.548.

Stoner commented: "Considering that I have recently had an operation and my wrist has still not full recovered, to be the fastest rider here is a dream to be honest. Now I have to work hard on improving my physical condition and recovering the level of movement I need to ride the bike properly without pain. The Desmosedici GP9 is a good bike and in every test we've done with it we've come out on top."

Affected more recently by a hospital visit, current MotoGP title holder Rossi was just off Stoner's pace on the final day, as he too rode through the pain barrier following a recent domestic accident.

The Italian tested in Malaysia with stitches in his left hand and foot having fallen onto a glass coffee table at his home in Italy last week. He stated on Saturday that "I am leaving Sepang feeling happy, because we've made a good start. We finished everything we wanted to do on the bike and the setting and the rhythm is quite good. My injuries are getting better each day because they're only cuts and they're healing fast. For sure we need to improve some more but since this year we have less testing, this performance has been very important."

Third fastest over the three days was Suzuki's Italian veteran Loris Capirossi who looked immediately more comfortable on his significantly remodeled 800cc prototype than with last year's machine. With Tech 3 Yamaha's Colin Edwards and San Carlo Honda Gresini's Toni Elias - on his factory spec 2009 RC212V- just behind Capirossi on the timesheets there was representation from four different manufacturers in the top five.

Capirossi's team-mate Chris Vermeulen was sixth in the combined three-day standings, whilst the early-departing Pedrosa was seventh overall courtesy of his best lap from the second day. The Repsol Honda rider left Malaysia 24 hours earlier than expected citing a lack of complete recovery from a knee injury which required surgery before Christmas.

The final Sepang top ten was completed by a trio of 250cc graduates, 2008 rookies Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) and Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and 2009 newcomer Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing).

Next on the timesheet was Nicky Hayden who continued his adaptation to the Desmosedici GP9 and Bridgestone tyres, riding for the first time in full Ducati Marlboro colours.

The American still has some catching up to do with his friend and teammate Stoner, having lapped 1.454s slower, and explained on Saturday that "Obviously I'm not happy with my lap times, I was expecting more from myself, but I have to stay positive. I've improved my lap times every day and we have gathered a lot of data to work from in the next test. The fact Casey is already so fast means that the bike has the potential - it can only be a good thing that he is going so quick."

Another high profile Ducati rider, returning hero Sete Gibernau, was also lower down the timesheets than he would have hoped, on his Guinea Ecuatorial team satellite machinery. Having finished thirteenth the former World Championship runner-up will be looking for improvements at the next MotoGP test which takes place on 1st-3rd March, under the floodlights at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.

Marco Melandri's Profile

• Bike No.: 33
• Birth place: Ravenna, Italy
• Birthday: July 8, 1982.
• Residence: Derby, England
• Nationality: Itallian
• Height: 166
• Weight: 58
• Team: Kawasaki Racing Team

Background

2002 was the year Marco broke through and established himself as one of the premier riders in GP. He dominated the 250 class on his way to his first World Championship. His reward: a factory Yamaha MotoGP ride alongside Carlos Checa on the 4-stroke M1. We will have to wait and see how he responds to the challenge of riding the bigger faster bike against tougher competition.

"I will never forget going onto the straight for the first time when I first rode the bike," recalled 20-year-old 250cc World Champion. "When I opened the throttle I imagined it would be about twice as powerful as the 250, but I just couldn't believe it. It was at least three times as much."

Melandri is one of a handful of riders for Aprilia whom they believe is capable of winning the title. After nearly winning the 125 crown in 98-99, he moved up to the 250 class and has since become a fan favorite. His post race wheelies have been well documented in the MotorcycleUSA MotoGP gallery so have a look!

After three season at Movistar Honda, Melandri moves to Fortuna Honda for the 2006 season. 2005 was his best to date in MotoGP and many people are tagging him as the new choice to dethrone Rossi.

In 2006 Melandri was right up with the championship leaders when a nasty first-turn pileup at Catalunya spoiled his championship intentions. Instead Supermarco had to settle for fourth overall.

Entering 2007, the Italian star remained with the Gresini Honda team, although sponsorship changed from Fortuna to Hannspree. Also new for 2007 was the switch from Michelin to Bridgestone rubber, with the Italian earning a fifth-place in the championship.

For 2008 Melandri finally recieves a full factory ride, and on the Ducati GP8 no less! With the same machine that Stoner used to smoke the class in '07, Melandri has no excuse to make a bid for the title.

Career Highlights:

1986:
First 50cc motorcycle

1989:
Made racing début

1990:
8th in Italian Minibike Junior A championship

1991:
2nd in Italian Minibike Junior A championship

1992:
Italian Minibike Junior A Champion

1993:
2nd in Italian Minibike Junior B championship

1994:
Italian Minibike Junior B Champion; Italian Sport Production races, with an Aprilia

1995:
Honda 125cc GP Trophy races

1996:
13th in Honda Italy Trophy; débuted in Italian 125cc championship, with a Honda

1997: 4th in European 125cc championship; Italian 125cc Champion; Honda Italy Trophy winner; World Championship 125cc début - all with a Honda
Raced the number 13 machine for Matteoni Racing in the Czech GP, finishing 17th

1998: Benetton Matteoni, number 13 Honda
Marco was a revelation in his first full 125cc GP season, finishing second in the fourth, fifth and sixth races, and immediately following on with victory in Assen. He also won in Brno, and another four finishes in the top four took him to third overall, on 202 points

1999 : Playlife Racing Team - Liégeois, number 13 Honda
Melandri looked ready to win the title in 1999, but failed to score in the first three races. He made amends with five wins in the last eight rounds, to add to another six results in the top six, and he also started from pole three times. In Argentina, the last round, he only needed to beat Emílio Alzamora by six points. Leading the race, Marco tried to block the Spaniard, so that someone else might take second away from him. The plan didn’t work, with the title going to Alzamora 227 to 226, without actually winning a race

2000: Aprilia Grand Prix Racing, number 35 Aprilia
Moving up to the 250cc series with Aprilia, Melandri soon dropped the number 13 after a mid-season lull, and his rookie year in the class saw him in the top six twelve times. Best of these were third places in four of the last five races, with his first pole position coming at the third last venue. His score of 159 points placed him fifth in the table

2001: MS Aprilia Racing, number 5 Aprilia
The 2001 season saw Tetsuya Harada return to the 250s to lead Aprilia, with the former champion coming up against a dominant Daijiro Kato and Honda. Marco was ‘best of the rest’, winning in Germany and starting from the front row nine times. He had nine podium scores altogether, and four fastest laps, with his third place achieved from 194 points on the board

2002: MS Aprilia Racing, number 3 Aprilia
With Kato and Harada both moving up to the top class, 2002 was Melandri’s year. His nine race wins included six in a row during the summer, and he ended up comfortably clear of Fonsi Nieto. There were only two pole positions, to Nieto’s nine, but Marco started on the front rank in all races bar one, and also recorded four fastest laps. 298 was his final points tally

2003: Fortuna Yamaha Team, number 33 Yamaha
Elevated to the MotoGP class, as Carlos Checa’s team-mate, the year started badly for Melandri when he was injured in the first race meeting. He missed a couple of races as a result, but qualified an impressive fourth in France, round four, and went one better at Donington. There were some good race outings, too, such as when he traded the lead with the established stars in Australia, but on the whole the Yamaha runners struggled to match Honda’s big guns. Marco managed to crash at Phillip Island, and was left with a best result of fifth, and first Yamaha home, in Motegi. He scored 45 points, which meant fifteenth overall

2004: Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3, number 33 Yamaha
Melandri was moved sideways for his second top class season, where he joined Norick Abe in the Tech 3 outfit. He went well enough with the M1 to appear at the sharp end more than a couple of times, particularly in the wet, but also managed to crash a few times too many. An overall improvement brought him to 75 points and twelfth in the final table

2005: MoviStar Honda MotoGP, number 33 Honda
Marco was big news in 2005, as he settled with the Honda RCV and added consistent finishing to his armoury. Despite a mid-season lull, he was thirteen times in the top six, including seven podium results, and these included his first two class victories. His 220 points placed him second overall, and certainly showed him in a good light against experienced team-mate Sete Gibernau. He also took three fastest laps