Bike No.: 33- Birth place: Ravenna, Italy
- Birthday: July 8, 1982.
- Residence: Derby, England
- Nationality: Itallian
- Height: 166
- Weight: 58
- Team: Kawasaki Racing Team
Background2002 was the year Marco broke through and established himself as one of the premier riders in GP. He dominated the 250 class on his way to his first World Championship. His reward: a factory Yamaha MotoGP ride alongside Carlos Checa on the 4-stroke M1. We will have to wait and see how he responds to the challenge of riding the bigger faster bike against tougher competition.
"I will never forget going onto the straight for the first time when I first rode the bike," recalled 20-year-old 250cc World Champion. "When I opened the throttle I imagined it would be about twice as powerful as the 250, but I just couldn't believe it. It was at least three times as much."
Melandri is one of a handful of riders for Aprilia whom they believe is capable of winning the title. After nearly winning the 125 crown in 98-99, he moved up to the 250 class and has since become a fan favorite. His post race wheelies have been well documented in the MotorcycleUSA MotoGP gallery so have a look!
After three season at Movistar Honda, Melandri moves to Fortuna Honda for the 2006 season. 2005 was his best to date in MotoGP and many people are tagging him as the new choice to dethrone Rossi.
In 2006 Melandri was right up with the championship leaders when a nasty first-turn pileup at Catalunya spoiled his championship intentions. Instead Supermarco had to settle for fourth overall.
Entering 2007, the Italian star remained with the Gresini Honda team, although sponsorship changed from Fortuna to Hannspree. Also new for 2007 was the switch from Michelin to Bridgestone rubber, with the Italian earning a fifth-place in the championship.
For 2008 Melandri finally recieves a full factory ride, and on the Ducati GP8 no less! With the same machine that Stoner used to smoke the class in '07, Melandri has no excuse to make a bid for the title.
Career Highlights:1986:
First 50cc motorcycle
1989:
Made racing début
1990:
8th in Italian Minibike Junior A championship
1991:
2nd in Italian Minibike Junior A championship
1992:
Italian Minibike Junior A Champion
1993:
2nd in Italian Minibike Junior B championship
1994:
Italian Minibike Junior B Champion; Italian Sport Production races, with an Aprilia
1995:
Honda 125cc GP Trophy races
1996:
13th in Honda Italy Trophy; débuted in Italian 125cc championship, with a Honda
1997: 4th in European 125cc championship; Italian 125cc Champion; Honda Italy Trophy winner; World Championship 125cc début - all with a Honda
Raced the number 13 machine for Matteoni Racing in the Czech GP, finishing 17th
1998: Benetton Matteoni, number 13 Honda
Marco was a revelation in his first full 125cc GP season, finishing second in the fourth, fifth and sixth races, and immediately following on with victory in Assen. He also won in Brno, and another four finishes in the top four took him to third overall, on 202 points
1999 : Playlife Racing Team - Liégeois, number 13 Honda
Melandri looked ready to win the title in 1999, but failed to score in the first three races. He made amends with five wins in the last eight rounds, to add to another six results in the top six, and he also started from pole three times. In Argentina, the last round, he only needed to beat Emílio Alzamora by six points. Leading the race, Marco tried to block the Spaniard, so that someone else might take second away from him. The plan didn’t work, with the title going to Alzamora 227 to 226, without actually winning a race
2000: Aprilia Grand Prix Racing, number 35 Aprilia
Moving up to the 250cc series with Aprilia, Melandri soon dropped the number 13 after a mid-season lull, and his rookie year in the class saw him in the top six twelve times. Best of these were third places in four of the last five races, with his first pole position coming at the third last venue. His score of 159 points placed him fifth in the table
2001: MS Aprilia Racing, number 5 Aprilia
The 2001 season saw Tetsuya Harada return to the 250s to lead Aprilia, with the former champion coming up against a dominant Daijiro Kato and Honda. Marco was ‘best of the rest’, winning in Germany and starting from the front row nine times. He had nine podium scores altogether, and four fastest laps, with his third place achieved from 194 points on the board
2002: MS Aprilia Racing, number 3 Aprilia
With Kato and Harada both moving up to the top class, 2002 was Melandri’s year. His nine race wins included six in a row during the summer, and he ended up comfortably clear of Fonsi Nieto. There were only two pole positions, to Nieto’s nine, but Marco started on the front rank in all races bar one, and also recorded four fastest laps. 298 was his final points tally
2003: Fortuna Yamaha Team, number 33 Yamaha
Elevated to the MotoGP class, as Carlos Checa’s team-mate, the year started badly for Melandri when he was injured in the first race meeting. He missed a couple of races as a result, but qualified an impressive fourth in France, round four, and went one better at Donington. There were some good race outings, too, such as when he traded the lead with the established stars in Australia, but on the whole the Yamaha runners struggled to match Honda’s big guns. Marco managed to crash at Phillip Island, and was left with a best result of fifth, and first Yamaha home, in Motegi. He scored 45 points, which meant fifteenth overall
2004: Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3, number 33 Yamaha
Melandri was moved sideways for his second top class season, where he joined Norick Abe in the Tech 3 outfit. He went well enough with the M1 to appear at the sharp end more than a couple of times, particularly in the wet, but also managed to crash a few times too many. An overall improvement brought him to 75 points and twelfth in the final table
2005: MoviStar Honda MotoGP, number 33 Honda
Marco was big news in 2005, as he settled with the Honda RCV and added consistent finishing to his armoury. Despite a mid-season lull, he was thirteen times in the top six, including seven podium results, and these included his first two class victories. His 220 points placed him second overall, and certainly showed him in a good light against experienced team-mate Sete Gibernau. He also took three fastest laps
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