Coming man Melandri keeps up the pressure
At the start of the season the prospect of Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) challenging for the championship itself on the fast but fickle S1000RR race bike seemed a remote one to some people, even inside the SBK paddock. The credentials of all involved in the 2012 BMW effort, from Melandri and his team-mate Leon Haslam to the background staff, were impeccable, but still some said it would be a case of maybe a few wins, but maybe a couple of other riders would be the ones to watch for champion material, in 2012 at least.
The rider from Ravenna's progress has not been as smooth as he would have wanted on some occasions but the effort of man, machine and a well-resourced team are reaping top level rewards as the season moves into its key final stages. Even when he is not winning, Melandri is making his races count.
At Silverstone, Marco admitted that his previous approach of appearing to try to win every race at all costs got modified a little in England, given the special circumstances he now finds himself in. "The important thing was to salvage as many points as possible from the weekend," said Melandri. "In fact the two results obtained at Silverstone are worth a victory for the championship battle. For the first time this year I raced with one eye on the title battle. In conditions like this it's easy to make mistakes and seeing as I had to recover some points it was best not to do anything stupid. That's why I settled for the results."
Silverstone's wet and dry raceday was a test of nerve as much as anything and Melandri had to bring all his considerable experience to bear just to get away with a seventh and eighth place finish in treacherous conditions. "The two races were completely different, but they were both equally as difficult," confirmed Marco. "Many young riders who are not involved in the championship fight were pushing very hard, so the races were not easy. However, I am so happy because we leave here without any damage and good points."
With 200 points left to score for any rider who wins all of the remaining eight individual races, and a mathematically possible 13 riders being capable of winning the title (however unlikely for all but the top four or five) there are both possibilities and pitfalls aplenty for all the top runners. But it is worth bearing in mind that since Melandri took second place in the championship for the third time this year, at Motorland Aragon, the points gap to Biaggi has gone from 48 to 21 after Brno and now 10.5 after Silverstone. With third place man Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) and fourth place rider Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati, now both 50 points and more away from Biaggi, the momentum in the championship has swung very much in the direction of Melandri.
