Melandri eases into MotoGP return

Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing) found the swap from a factory WSB RSV-4 Aprila to the first version a factory Aprilia MotoGP machine a difficult one at Jerez.

Tyres were his main concern, having to get used to the character of the Bridgestone MotoGP rubber after the very different Pirelli Superbike tyres.

“The bike is getting better but for me the biggest thing to get used to is the tyre,” said Melandri midway through his second day on the bike. “As you know everything is new so we need time. It is hard to say about the change from WSB to MotoGP, too early to say, but the biggest difference for me is the tyre. I also need to ride on the new engine some more because we only did a few laps so far.”

Melandri had to revert to a CRT engine, after using the same engine as team-mate Alvaro Bautista to start, when his bike developed a problem with the engine inlet trumpets.