SBK, Marco Melandri debuts on the factory Ducati at Misano

He had a first taste riding the road bike at the Adria track. This morning, at Misano, Marco Melandri climbed on the Ducati Panigale R. A long-awaited debut test for the Italian rider, who will represent the Borgo Panigale manufacturer next season alongside Chaz Davies.

Melandri will carry out three days of testing, until Wednesday, at the track dedicated to the memory of Marco Simoncelli. Joining him on track are Davies, Giugliano and Pirro, who will finish their work tomorrow evening. Work will focus on some electronic and chassis-related updates, ahead of the Lausitzring round, scheduled to take place on 17-18 September. The first after the long summer break.

The former 250 champion will take things step by step until November, when he will officially become party of the Ducati Aruba team, with Aligi Deganello at his side. Back to the present, and his adventure kicked off this morning at 10am. Also on track is KTM, which will debut in MotoGP in 2017 with Bradley Smith and Pol Espargarò. Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone are also expected to carry out a GP16 test this week.