Paddock Press: Porta on Melandri´s 2008 season

The reasons for Marco Melandri´s inability to gel with the Ducati Desmosedici GP8 look likely to remain a mystery, but today´s Paddock Press brings in another prspective on the Italian´s plight. Mediaset´s Alberto Porta thinks that Melandri had underestimated the adaptation process required for the tricky 800cc bike, as he explains in the accompanying video.

`For me, the reason is that Marco started his new adventure with Ducati - an Italian bike for an Italian rider- in the wrong way, thinking the situation was simple, thinking `I see what Casey did with this bike, so I can do the same´, says Porta.

`It was the worst way to start, and we saw the situation was getting more complicated with each test and later on race-by-race. With Marco, if he loses confidence in himself, he loses all his power; he has incredible talent but his mind is very delicate.´

Tomorrow´s Paddock Press features Rizla Suzuki´s Chris Vermeulen.