News

Melandri the hero of the weekend already

29/08/07

By David Miller

Tomorrow sees MotoGP roll into the paddock at possibly the most glamorous stop on the calendar – Misano. And, not the first time this year, every single rider will be in exactly the same boat as none of them have ridden around the track as it is now.

Many will have raced and tested at the place but, as WSB found out earlier in the season, it’s a whole new ball game now the track direction has been reversed – but Colin Edwards says he still knows where to get the best ice cream in town.

The hero of the weekend will surely be Gresini Honda’s Marco Melandri who is doing his level best to be fit enough to compete, despite suffering from a herniated disc in his neck and lingering problems with the foot bones he broke at Laguna Seca.

“The medical checks after Brno confirmed a discal hernia between the fifth and sixth vertebrae but luckily the need for surgery was ruled out. I need more rest and physiotherapy right up until the eve of the Grand Prix. The situation is better compared to Brno but I know I am running out of time,” he said.

“I just hope to be in good shape for the race because this is a special Grand Prix for my team. As a circuit Misano has changed a lot from the one we knew: there are some new sections and they are running it in the opposite direction so it’s like a completely new track.

 “For me it will be a physically challenging race after the problems I had at Brno. I’ll have to see how it is when I get on the bike on Friday but I’m hoping to be fit. To have a second race in Italy as well as the traditional race at Mugello is a privilege for the Italian riders. Racing in front of our fans is an incredible feeling!”

Runaway championship leader Casey Stoner is also racing in front of a home crowd, not his but his factory’s. However, he says he is under less pressure now as the season has gone well for the Ducati team.

"Misano will be a strange race because nobody really knows what it will be like to race a MotoGP bike round there,” said the 21-year-old. “Loris and I did two display laps at the World Ducati Weekend because the fans wanted to see the Desmosedici race bike. The track isn't too bad but I feel it needs to be improved because it's very bumpy, so it's going to be pretty loose on these bikes.

“We'll just have to wait and see how it goes, it could be good for us. I still want to try and win races, if we do good work in practice and we have a good rhythm, we will try and win, if not we will just do the best job we can.

 “Every race now I feel less pressure because this season has been unbelievable for us, we've proven we're fast enough, we've already won a few races and we've got a bigger points advantage. I'm already very happy with the season, so I don't feel any more pressure.”

Pressure is one word to describe what happened to current championship runner-up Valentino Rossi at Brno. There was much talk and speculation in the build up concerning tax investigation, the exit of one of his closest managers etc etc. And the results showed. He is, publicly at least, putting a brave face on the whole thing and says racing in front of the home crowd is a delight.

"It's always very special for me to race in front of my home fans and Misano is so close to my home that it should be something amazing!" said Rossi. "Anyway, we arrive here not in such great shape, following some disappointing races. We had two days of testing in Brno and, although we weren't able to find the ‘miracle' tyres that we were hoping for, we did give a lot of information to Michelin and hopefully they will have been able to use this to do some good work during this week. We will see where we are on Friday morning.

"About the track, now they've turned it around it's like a new track for everyone. Even Colin, who knows it well from Superbikes, is expecting that his previous knowledge won't help, so I think it's fair to say that we're all in the same boat. As always we will do our best and I sincerely hope that we can give the Italian fans something to cheer about!"