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Melandri 'still not at ease' with Ducati
By Michele Lostia and Pablo Elizalde Wednesday, December 5th 2007, 10:00 GMT
Marco Melandri during testing at JerezMarco Melandri says he is not yet feeling comfortable on his Ducati after failing to shine during last week's test at the Jerez circuit.
Melandri has joined world champions Ducati from the satellite Honda Gresini squad, but the Italian rider was unable to match teammate Casey Stoner's pace during the first two days of testing at the Spanish circuit.
Melandri admits there is still a lot of work to do in order to get the bike to his liking after finishing outside the top ten in all three days of the test.
"These tests haven't been easy for me," Melandri told Motosprint magazine. "There are several of them (problems), I'm not sorted. The feeling with the bike isn't good yet, and it's still too early to try to be quick at all costs."
"At the moment it's better to try to work, all together, to make the bike come to me. Then I will adapt to it. But at the moment the feeling with it isn't good yet.
"We've made some progress. In the first days we worked a lot to try different geometries. In the end we found a new solution on weight distribution. Only after having set a basis we started to work on the suspensions. In the end the bike became a bit more stable, but not by much.
"I still need to find the right riding position, I haven't been able to feel comfortable. I'm not at ease."
The Italian rider says one of the reasons for his struggles is that his style is very different to world champion Stoner's.
"I'm following the planned schedule, which included lots of work for adapting to this bike," he added. "We still need time. My characteristics are different from Stoner's and Capirossi's: my set-up is decisively different from Casey's, some things will require time to be changed.
"I have explained what I would like, so now it's up to the technicians. Also because the work on the electronics is very complex, and I barely know how to send an email!"
He added: "The engine is a different thing compared to the Honda. The power is incredible and it isn't easy to use it. It's very nervous, it's important to find a set-up and then work hard with the electronics."
When asked what needed changing, Melandri said: "A bit of everything: I'm unable to change positions, sometimes I'm unable to stand still when the bike starts moving a lot, while in other occasions I make a bad use of arms and legs to keep it steady. One of the priorities for the next tests will be to change riding position."
By Michele Lostia and Pablo Elizalde Wednesday, December 5th 2007, 10:00 GMT
Marco Melandri during testing at JerezMarco Melandri says he is not yet feeling comfortable on his Ducati after failing to shine during last week's test at the Jerez circuit.
Melandri has joined world champions Ducati from the satellite Honda Gresini squad, but the Italian rider was unable to match teammate Casey Stoner's pace during the first two days of testing at the Spanish circuit.
Melandri admits there is still a lot of work to do in order to get the bike to his liking after finishing outside the top ten in all three days of the test.
"These tests haven't been easy for me," Melandri told Motosprint magazine. "There are several of them (problems), I'm not sorted. The feeling with the bike isn't good yet, and it's still too early to try to be quick at all costs."
"At the moment it's better to try to work, all together, to make the bike come to me. Then I will adapt to it. But at the moment the feeling with it isn't good yet.
"We've made some progress. In the first days we worked a lot to try different geometries. In the end we found a new solution on weight distribution. Only after having set a basis we started to work on the suspensions. In the end the bike became a bit more stable, but not by much.
"I still need to find the right riding position, I haven't been able to feel comfortable. I'm not at ease."
The Italian rider says one of the reasons for his struggles is that his style is very different to world champion Stoner's.
"I'm following the planned schedule, which included lots of work for adapting to this bike," he added. "We still need time. My characteristics are different from Stoner's and Capirossi's: my set-up is decisively different from Casey's, some things will require time to be changed.
"I have explained what I would like, so now it's up to the technicians. Also because the work on the electronics is very complex, and I barely know how to send an email!"
He added: "The engine is a different thing compared to the Honda. The power is incredible and it isn't easy to use it. It's very nervous, it's important to find a set-up and then work hard with the electronics."
When asked what needed changing, Melandri said: "A bit of everything: I'm unable to change positions, sometimes I'm unable to stand still when the bike starts moving a lot, while in other occasions I make a bad use of arms and legs to keep it steady. One of the priorities for the next tests will be to change riding position."
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