Melandri warns of need for time after Qatar return

Melandri warns of need for time after Qatar return



Monday, 02 March 2009
New Hayate Racing bike requires adaptation for MotoGP star.


Always a bluntly realistic rider, Marco Melandri has warned that he will need time to get fully acquainted with the Hayate Racing bike that has salvaged his participation in the 2009 season. The second fastest man on track on Sunday night in Qatar, in a session that saw reduced activity as a result of rainfall, Melandri put in the most laps of any rider -35- as he searched for comfort on the Ninja ZX-RR.
Breaching the 2’01 barrier with his quickest lap as one of only two riders to do so, the former MotoGP World Championship runner-up played down any overly positive conclusions from the Sunday action.
“I need so much more time. I did only a few laps and the times were pretty slow because of the dirty track,” he explained after the session.
“The bike is also completely different to the ’08 that I used in November; I need a few more hours to understand it but the first impression was quite good.”
Melandri was at least familiar with the Qatar track after a recent scouting operation, when he competed at the circuit as part of the Speedcar Series. In between the announcement of his reincorporation into MotoGP and his Sunday test appearance, the Italian also had time to participate in the latest round of the series at Dubai this past weekend –where he finished tenth and eighth.
Results from the Qatar test can be found here.

Melandri: “Big changes needed to find true potential”



Wednesday, 04 March 2009
Qatar test gives former MotoGP World Championship runner-up base set-up for new bike.


With a new bike and the least testing time of all the MotoGP riders, it was almost inevitable that Marco Melandri would be part of the trailing pack at the Qatar night sessions as he got acquainted with the Hayate Racing machine. The Italian propped up the timesheet at the conclusion of the three-night test, three seconds down on former teammate Casey Stoner, although it would be deceiving to read too much into the time discrepancy.
Stoner was a second in front of any other rider, whilst the difference between Melandri and fourth-placed Chris Vermeulen was just over 1.5 seconds. His 1’58.851 time is a point on which to build at his next expected test in Jerez and race return at the Losail circuit.
“It was an ok three days. We are pretty far away with the rear grip and traction, so we really have to improve and make some big changes to understand our true potential,” reviewed Melandri on his first test of 2009.
“Right now we’re not 100%, so we have to work a lot to find out how close we really are to the other competitors.”
Melandri’s participation in the Qatar test was only confirmed shortly before it’s commencement, with the Hayate structure hastily put in place for the event.