Ahead of his second home round of the season since his MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship return, Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) is looking forward to a strong fight tomorrow as he ends day one in the top three.

With some minor changes to make tomorrow, the 34 year old is feeling positive he will be able to improve on his lap time of 1.34.901, hoping to bring a strong pace around Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

Melandri explains: “To feel confident at your home race is always very good. The team worked so hard at the test, so we worked through the data and we secured a good set up. I am happy because I am feeling better on the bike than in the last races.  We have been working on our race pace, we know Jonny is always so so fast in Superpole and the race, to stay with him is not easy and I think if I can use all my potential we should be able to make up the gap and it will be a good race. Today was very hot and it was not easy to ride and it looks like tomorrow it will be a bit better and I think for everyone it will be a fun race.”

British team-mate Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) sits just outside of the top three in the afternoons Free Practise Two, following a steady start to the weekend. At a circuit Davies has never won around, he will be hoping to make some adaptations on his Panigale R.

Just 0.349s off Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) in first position, Davies explains: “Interesting, compared to when we tested, it’s a lot slicker out there and we need to make some updates as we are suffering with the hot conditions are not difficult for only us but a bit more challenging for my riding style so we need to adapt with that and make some in-roads tomorrow.”

As action continues out on track in the Pirelli Riviera Di Rimini Round, the Italian team will be hoping to impress out on track. Follow all the latest updates with the WorldSBK VideoPass, for all interviews, session videos and much more.