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He had gone out on the track to set his sights on the two Kawasakis and instead he found himself having to reckon with the Ducati ridden by Xavi Forés, who finished the race ahead of him. A Sunday that left a bitter taste in Marco Melandri’s mouth, forced to seek consolation in a fifth place finish in front of 75 thousand fans at Imola.
A troubled Race 2.
“Unfortunately, it was not a great day. There were various problems, especially going into corners and in acceleration. I struggled in the morning too. I’m disappointed because I was able to start well and I was hoping for a podium, but things went differently.”
You complained of these problems on Saturday too.
“Yesterday I felt much better. We tried a few solutions, but straight away I realized that it would be complicated. In fact, overtaking Forès was impossible, particularly in mid-corner. He braked very hard, whereas I struggled a lot with the rear. In fact, the tyre came off the tarmac continuously.”
Did you try to drastically change the bike this morning?
“We tried to change the engine, but it was not the right solution. The difficulties that I had today have never happened to me before in my life. Unfortunately, I just could not ride.”
That bad?
“I found abnormal problems that cost us a lot of time, so much to get worse. In fact, we were unable to find an explanation, especially in the gear changes, since the rear tyre did not touch the ground.”
Was there a step backward from Friday?
“To be honest, I was better off on Friday. We didn’t have the problems that came up yesterday and today.”
For one reason or another, Imola remains a cursed track.
“Going home with a podium on a cursed track is not so bad.”
