MotoGP – Melandri talks about 2006: criticism of Michelin, praise of Bridgestone

Before undergoing surgery to fix his left forearm which has been injured for 13 months now, Marco Melandri took care of the Diario staff on his official website (marcomelandri.it), where he took stock of this 2006 which he saw victory in Istanbul, Le Mans and Phillip Island and fourth place in the standings (just 22 points behind World Champion Nicky Hayden). Marco did not say nice words about Michelin, instead praising Bridgestone, the Gresini team's new partner for 2007. Melandri also untangled all the problems experienced this season, also thanks in a certain sense to Honda politics...

“It was a championship that honestly left me with little. Even though I won 3 races and came close to the world podium this year, I certainly can't say I had as much fun as I did in 2005. From the first test in January with the new chassis, i.e. the 06 of my Honda, I realized that something was missing, that I didn't like something. The bike was no longer my beloved one at the end of 2005 and I was no longer so loose, fast, and throughout the year I always had the same problems and even when I won I didn't ride as I think I could. Furthermore, the 2006 Michelin tire profile has changed radically since 2005, which was absolutely not suited to my driving style and exacerbated the chassis problems.

In the Barcelona tests I had entered a vortex, I was increasingly slow and confused, I liked nothing more, I couldn't get along with the bike, with the tires and with the crew chief (clear reference to Fabrizio Cecchini, ed. ). We had lost every common thread, the work was bad, there was no longer any logic and there was actually never a solution to the problems. I tried to accept the situation, after all we are a satellite team and neither Honda nor Michelin would have made any revolution for us... Despite this I never left anything to chance, I trained even more, I stayed focused. Let's say that '06 was a year of preparation for 2007..”

Regarding the move to Bridgestone…

“It will be a gamble, I really liked the first approach even if with the thousand. I saw the entire Bridgestone technical staff in our garage, with an incredible spirit of collaboration, ready to satisfy our every request to make the leap in quality together, then Honda gave us full availability in case of our requests to adapt our bike to Japanese tires. 2007 will really start with an attacking spirit!”

Alessio Piana