Melandri the coming man in chase to Biaggi
For Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) his latest win on the official S1000RR was not only another personal triumph, it was further proof that the game could be taken to race one winner Biaggi after all, even at a circuit with such a fast straight as Aragon. The Spanish track was a bit of a playground for the Aprilias, but Melandri was the only rider able to stick with Biaggi in race one, then lift his game to win the second race, in what ended up being a classic contest in all ways for Marco.
He also saw Laverty and Davies head up Biaggi and bring the championship points lead to a more manageable 48 after race two. It had been a whopping 60 after race one, and looking like it would grow even more.
"It was not easy because the wind was very strong and the Aprilia guys were pushing hard. In the beginning, Max could not go as fast as in race one and for me it was similar. Eugene was very fast and suddenly with only a few laps to go, Max overtook me. I passed him back but went wide and so Chaz and Eugene went past me. They were riding so strongly and so fast that it was not easy. For the last lap I had no plan, because when racing against those guys you cannot think about a plan because they try to pass you at every corner so I just tried to find a good place for braking at the end of the straight. To win was so amazing."
One day after the MotorLand race Melandri, like many of his peers, put a foot into the future when he evaluated the new generation of 17-inch Pirelli tyre and alloy wheel combos that will become mandatory in 2013, as well as trying out settings on the current 16.5 tyres in readiness for the next round at Brno. "It was interesting to ride the new 17-inch tyres," said Melandri. "It was a completely different feeling from the usual Pirelli tyres we race now. The bike characteristics look more precise. For sure we still have a lot of work to do with the tyre but also with the bike to find a good set-up for this kind of tyre. I hope this is just the starting point and that I will be able to test the new solution before the end of the year just to understand which direction we need to take for next season. Overall it was a positive day and I am happy and actually I cannot wait to go to Brno."
