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Marco Melandri took advantage of the Blue Racing Day organized by Yamaha at Misano to get back on the R1, but this time it wasn't the SBK version with which he raced his last full season as a rider. In fact, Marco rode a few laps on an R1 GYTR set up by the guys at GRT, and as much as it was simply a matter of doing a few laps at ease, we can assure you that Melandri's style remains a spectacle of elegance and precision.
We took advantage of his kindness to have a chat with him about the present of MotoGP and SBK, how much these two paddocks that Melandri has experienced as a protagonist have changed. Marco did not hold back in his comments and as always expressed very clear, direct and interesting thoughts!
Good to see you back on the track today, with your always spectacular style.
"A few laps are always good for us! Then I'm always curious to understand the level of the street supersport bikes, how they perform on the track. I always need a bit of time to get rid of some of the rust, however, after a few laps the mind goes back to what it used to be, the benchmarks a bit less."
What do you think of today's riders in MotoGP and SBK? You have written some great pages in both categories.
"It's always easy to say it was better in my time, let's say instead that it was different. Certainly there was a bit more human value. Even the relationships between the riders existed, good or bad, at least they were there. Now it seems to me that everyone just does what they have to do and then once they are done they disappear. It's too preset an environment, where everything has to work according to certain rules."
Is there a lack of personalities like yours, that of Rossi, Biaggi, Capirossi?
"I don't see more riders with a certain personality, who however with the gift of being able to ride the bike well also convey what they really are. This in my opinion is something I would like to see again. People at home get attached to the rider, to the character, to what they convey when they watch them. Something that distinguishes the years that I lived, when there were four Italians with me, Rossi, Biaggi and Capirossi. We were all very different, and I think that was very nice."
What do you think of this year's SBK world championship, it looks really hard-fought.
"A very nice SBK world championship, I was at Barcelona and I saw a really close Superpole Race and I haven't seen a race like that in a long time. Now in my opinion the form factor will change a lot from race to race, we have raced on two tracks where there were very long corners where you had to carry a lot of cornering speed but at the same time save the tires. Then they are two tracks they had tested on before the race. Now they will go to Holland where the weather is always unpredictable, you don't need to save the tires and so they can push from the beginning to the end and they won't test before the race, so I think the form factor will still change a little bit."
On the spot question: what do you think about the contact between Marquez and Bagnaia in Portimao?
"I'll preface it by saying that in my opinion it was the fault of nobody but also of both of them. Marquez overtook and then slowed down as much as he could to get back in the right line, but Bagnaia tried to cross over to retake the position and he did. I just think Pecco felt strongly about having the inside line and therefore not getting the worst of it in case of contact and certainly seeing Marquez you always tend to give a little something extra. So he threw himself back in without thinking about the consequences of making contact. Marc, on the other hand, was thinking about getting back in time for Pecco not to catch up. They touched each other and they both went down, but this is something that had been seen before and will undoubtedly be seen many more times. For me I welcome certain episodes because at least the riders showed grit and character. I wouldn't have liked it very much to see them in single file until the end."
There is a lack of spectacle, good thing Acosta is there. What do you think?
"Luckily there is Acosta, if it wasn't for him also in Qatar, with even some passes by Binder, it would have been an underwhelming race. He brought brilliance, now we will see the next races what he will do. From a certain point of view I hope he doesn't go strong in qualifying so he has to recover in the race."
