MARCO MELANDRI READY FOR THE RACE
FORTUNA HONDA rider Marco Melandri will start Sunday's Grand
Prix of Italy on the second row. The Italian worked hard on
Saturday and was rewarded in the dying stages of an intense
second qualifying session.
Melandri - who has made the podium at Mugello on four occasions,
although always in the lower classes - performed consistently
throughout the day. He concentrated on improving his feeling
with the rear end of the bike and, after trying various different
settings, got the result he was looking for.
Team-mate Toni Elias was forced to settle for 12th position.
The Spanish rider will be hoping to make a good start in tomorrow's
race and then try to keep up with the strong pace the Italian
riders are sure to set.
MARCO MELANDRI (1'49.343, 4th): "I
am satisfied with the result. My performance today has allowed
me to start on the second row which was what I was aiming
for. I am feeling good on the bike and my 'feeling' with the
rear end has improved a lot today. I am pretty clear about
which tyres I will be using, I have tested two tyres that
work really well and tomorrow we will take the final decision
also according to the opinion of my Michelin technician. It's
quite hard to make use of qualifying tyres at this circuit.
I am happy to have performed well in front of my home fans
and will give everything to get on the podium tomorrow."
TONI ELIAS (1'50.196, 12th): "I am
not satisfied because even though we improved from yesterday
we are still not where we should be. It will be important
to get a good result and get in amongst the top riders. It
will not be an easy race as there are many quick riders, I
just hope we get."
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