Melandri hails “step forward”

The Gran Premio bwin de España at Jerez saw improvements for Team San Carlo Honda Gresini. After a difficult opening race in Qatar, the second round of the 2010 season was positive in all respects for riders Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli - and for the team behind the preparation of their Honda RC212V bikes.

Melandri suffered in the opening part of the race, despite an excellent start. He came in eighth after a tough battle, which also included his team-mate. Simoncelli took a step forward in his rookie season with another 11th place, learning how to fight with a MotoGP bike and experiencing an altogether more pleasing race than his debut in Qatar.

Marco Melandri - 8th:

"That was definitely better than Qatar, but I’m not very happy with the first part of the race. It was hard to ride. I made a good start but I didn’t feel comfortable riding, when I hit the brakes the bike was very unstable. It got better as the race went on, but my engine mapping lost me some power. In any case, I had a good fight with Kallio and tried to get past him for seventh at the end, but he had more acceleration and I couldn’t make it up on the brakes. I feel that we have made a step forward, and we will continue working in order to get in even better shape."

Marco Simoncelli - 11th:

"Let’s say that this 11th place leaves a completely different taste in the mouth to Qatar. I had a good start and moved up places, fighting with Melandri, Kallio, Edwards, Spies, De Puniet and Bautista. Unfortunately in the end I was only able to finish ahead of one of those riders. But it was a good race and I was still very fast at the end; I even felt that at seven laps from the flag I was a bit stronger than the rest of the group. But when my bike started to slide the other riders upped their pace. It’s another 11th place, but a more positive one."

Press release courtesy of San Carlo Honda Gresini