Marco Melandri - WSBK Racing

Marco Melandri

Italian rider, Marco Melandri was introduced to racing at just six years of age. As evidence of his passion and talent for the sport, he raked in wins in motocross, minibikes, and the 125cc Italian National Championship. By the time he reached 15, he was competing in the World Championships. Although close to the title in 1998 and 1999, the 125cc crown escaped Melandri. He, however, did not escape the expert eye of Aprilia, who drafted him onto their team in 2000 to begin his 250cc career.

Inhereting the bike ridden by Valentino Rossi, Marco won his first quarter liter victory in Sachsenring in 2001, finishing third overall for the season. 2002 proved even better as he collected 9 wins and the 250cc World Championship title. Continuing his forward movement, Marco moved up to MotoGP in 2003.

A broken leg in his first season of Premier Class competition squashed his hopes for a title. 2004 was a hit and miss campaign racing for Yamaha. The next year, he proved what he had come to prove, riding his way to the runner-up spot for Honda, followed by a solid collection of wins and podiums in 2006.

In 2008, it was announced that Marco would be riding alongside Casey Stoner on the factory Ducati team. Theoretically, this should have been an unbeatable combination, however, realistically it was far less than perfect. The original 2 year contract with Ducati was slashed, and Kawasaki swooped in to pick up the pieces and the world-class rider for their own campaign in 2009.

During the winter break, Kawasaki found it in their best financial interest to pull the plug on their MotoGP campaign, subsequently leaving Melandri hung out to dry. Just before the 2009 season opener, a mutual agreement was reached between Marco and Hayate Racing to create a satellite team with a Kawasaki bike but no factory support. He shined in Le Mans with an absolutely stunning 2nd place finish despite the factory pulling out, and went on to finish a respectable 10th in the final standings of 2009.

San Carlo Honda Gresini stepped up to the plate for 2010 and signed Marco along with rookie Marco Simocelli. With factory support once again, and one of the top bikes in the paddock, Marco is surely looking down the barrel of a stellar year. After a tenth place finish overall in 2010, Marco signed on with Sterilgarda Yamaha for 2011 and will ride the World Superbike curcuit.