After leaving Team Gresini last year with a resounding “the Honda 2007 is the worst bike I’ve ever ridden”, many people have been left wondering what Marco Melandri would say about his Ducati and his disastrous 2008 season now that he’s leaving for greener pastures in Kawasaki.

Melandri in an interview with the Italian website Sportmediaset is refusing to shoulder all the blame for his poor performance on the red bike and has placed a part of the responsibility on Ducati’s doorstep.

Here are a few excerpts from the interview:

Is it true that you knew a year ago that you were going to have a tough season?
Yes, during the first test run at Valencia:

What did you understand?
That if you like the Ducati, you don’t like other bikes. It’s totally different from Honda or Yamaha. It’s just like those motorcycle fans who are divided between cheering for the rider or those who cheer on Ducati, even the bike is different, if you ask me what’s different in Ducati I can say everything! How the fairing reacts, the riding position, the engine.

But couldn’t something have been done about it?
Even today I’d change certain things, even simple things like the foot pegs, but certain things you obviously just can’t do. I haven’t had a good working relationship with my team this year and that’s too bad because on a personal level we get along, they’re all great guys.

What do you think they could have done to help you?
Instead of spending all their time thinking about how to rid of me they could have used a fourth of that time to follow my indications. Maybe something good or different could have happened.
They didn’t follow my ideas so maybe Ducati thought they weren’t high up on their priority list. The thing is after Barcellona something did get better on the bike, but I was getting up every morning thinking that Ducati considered me ready to be substituted. I found out from the newspapers that they were thinking of getting others to do the testsinstead of me.

Why did you choose to go to Kawasaki instead of Honda Gresini?
I follow my instinct. I don’t want others to decide my happiness. Maybe its going to be another difficult adventure, but now I’m doing it for myself. I’ve got no problem working my butt off and getting up early if I’m convinced about what I’m doing. I’m a top rider that took a big step backwards, but while suffering I’ve learned to not give a damn about what people say. I’m at peace with myself. I’ve failed, yes I’ve failed but I failed because I didn’t go fast on a bike not because I didn’t act or behave well.

Did you get the chance to talk to other riders that you’ve known for a long time like Capirossi or Rossi?
Try asking them. There’s no need to talk. Go ask them what they were thinking when they had Melandri in their path. You can be sure that I’ve gotten more f***k you this season than in all of my whole of my career.

Source| SportMediaset

(no votes)

0 comments