MotoGP – Exclusive interview with Marco Melandri

In or out. Marco Melandri can't hold back: next year, after years of waiting, he will finally get on an official motorbike, followed directly by the parent company. His move to Ducati, after three years of success and disappointment with the Honda Gresini team, is an unmissable opportunity to make a good impression, trying to aim for that world title which he only came close to in 2006. With the Desmosedici 800cc there has already been a first contact in Valencia, awaiting the Jerez tests and the more truthful responses from the tests scheduled for Sepang from next January. Melandri is fired up, determined, ready for a confrontation, which for many is unthinkable and fratricidal, with his friend and new world champion Casey Stoner: we met Marco at the recent 65th Milan Cycle and Motorcycle Show, asking him about his first sensations “Ducatista” and the intentions for the next season…

Marco, what are your first impressions of your transition from Honda to Ducati, or from customer to factory rider?

“It's a big change. Now it still seems a little early to say what has really changed, i.e. the differences between one bike and another, but the treatment I now receive at Ducati is new: every time you stop in the pits, whoever builds the moto tries to listen to your requests or comments and for me it is an unknown but very pleasant sensation".

For now you have only carried out the tests in Valencia, but do you think you will be the one to adapt to the bike by sticking to the work already done or will you try to make important changes to adapt it to your riding style and your needs?

“The bike immediately demonstrated incredible potential. I certainly have a very different riding style from Casey, but before starting to adapt it a little more to myself I wanted to wait, do a few days of testing and several kilometers to confirm what we will need. So from the next tests we will start working on the bike and we will try to find a solution: me with the riding style and making changes on what is not suitable for me".

Do you have any regrets about not having spent last season in Ducati, given this year's results?

“My instincts were right, already last year I believed that Ducati would be my future and I had the opportunity to try again this year: I too will be part of the family in the 2008 championship. However, I believe that the mistakes of the past they will help me grow further and give me the strength to try again in the future".

What do you think of the three newcomers to MotoGP? Do you think they will get good results right away or that they will struggle a bit due to the change in displacement?

“Now the level in MotoGP is incredible, so it will be good to see. I believe that the best riders around are all in this championship, even if the grid is not very large. It will certainly be very difficult to consistently be at the front because even the slightest mistake will be enough to find yourself among the last.".

Chiara Folci, sent for MotoGrandPrix at the EICMA in Milan