Bringing Andrea Dosoli and a few of his former Yamaha mechanics to BMW Motorrad was one of the smartest moves that Marco Melandri could do and the vast experience of the former Superbike team has also benefited the German manufacturer, as the Italian took the team to an excellent second place in Race 1 at Phillip Island – their best result ever since their WSBK debut in 2009.
Over the pre-season and official tests Melandri struggled coming to terms with his BMW S1000RR, but come race day when it really counts, the BMW rider showed what pasta he’s made from.
Coming from 13th on the grid he carved his way to second after battling with Tom Sykes and Sylvain Guintoli.
While race 2 with its higher temperatures set off chattering issues and relegated the Italian to sixth after a battle with his own team mate Leon Haslam.
“I am really happy! Giving BMW its best ever result in only my first race on the RR is awesome.
I still cannot believe that.
The guys at the circuit and in the factory are working really hard, and they have done a great job.
We didn’t quite know how we would perform in the race as we hadn’t done any long runs in pre-season testing.
During the race I just tried to keep my rhythm and tried not to override as I knew I would have to look after the tyres.
I had to wait for the right moment to pass Tom Sykes and Sylvain Guintoli.
In the final two laps Sylvain was pushing very hard again, but I kept focused on my race and defended my position,” said Macho Melandri.
“Race two was very difficult.
It was warmer, so I had to push harder to catch the guys in front of me, and it was not easy.
But we finished the first weekend second in the championship, and that is better than expected.
Now we have one month to analyse the data and try to make even more improvements.
We will go testing in Spain and all the guys are working hard.
We all have the same goal and I very happy to see the motivation is high.
Last, I want to send my sympathy to the family of Oscar McIntyre who we lost yesterday.
” If Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi’s splitting the season opener’s wins made the headlines, we have to give a special mention to what injured Leon Haslam accomplished, while riding through the pain barrier of a recently pinned tibia and a fracture to his left heel and toe that picked up on the first day of official testing, and with only 45 practice laps done through the weekend to preserve his strength for the two races.
Pocket Rocket managed a 12th spot in race 1, but an impressive 5th spot in race 2 battling with a gaggle of aggressive riders and not lastly with his own team mate Marco Melandri who he pipped in the last lap.
“Overall I’m really happy,” said Haslam “We had a problem in race one, which I couldn’t ride around.
Even though just scoring points was the objective, I knew I could have done better.
The boys worked really hard between races.
They changed engines, electronics and the balance of the bike, and straightaway we were able to fight for a top five position.
It’s a big credit to all the team and the medical staff who managed to get me out there in the first place!I also want to express my condolences to the family and friends of Oscar McIntyre, who died in that tragic crash yesterday.
”
