Melandri achieved a good second place which was the best result of the day. He started from the third row in race one but had some difficulty in catching the leader. Some changes were made to the bike for race two but they weren’t enough to improve on Melandri’s position. Marco had a disappointing fourth place and the other riders: Checa, Neukirchner and Camier did not participate in the race due injuries sustained during bad crashes in the first session of the practices. Carlos broke his wrist, Camier had several fractures to the foot and Neukirchner ended up with a broken hand. Badovini also crashed on Friday morning and had to opt out of the practices due to a bad ankle sprain, He took part in the first race but had to retire due to a problem with the bike and was unable to take part in race two. Tenth place went to Fabrizio in both races having experienced difficulties in finding good settlings with his Honda Team Pata new bike.
In the championship Melandri unfortunately lost one position, he is now fourth with 33 points from the top. Next race at Laguna seca on 29/9. Best wishes to all our injured riders and hope they can get back on the track soon.
In Misano Adriatico, Karel Hanika, despite a retreat for technical problem, conquered the title of 2013 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion. Pagliani won the Race ahead of Manzi, (X-lite X-802R) fourth Bastianini (Nolan X-802R ).
Marco Melandri, Nolan X-802R.
“In race one, I lost a lot of time in the first laps. With a new tyre our bike is always very nervous. On the first lap I had to shut the throttle on the straight as the bike was shaking too much. But then after ten laps, because there was less fuel the bike became lighter and it was easier to ride. At that time I was quite fast and I caught up with the top guys. But when I passed Tom, Eugene was already very far away and for me, second place was already a very good result.
After race one, we made some changes to the setting of the bike but, probably because of the higher track temperature, the grip went down. We tried to balance the bike with some changes to the rear but as consequence, I started struggling with the front. I couldn’t be fast entering the corner and I had some issues trying to brake. In the end I could not get the same result as in race one. We have still three races to go and, even if it’ll not be easy, I continue to believe. I want to fight and give my best in each race.”
Michel Fabrizio, X-lite X-802R.
"It has not been an easy weekend but it was very important for me to finish both the races to find out as much as possible about the bike and how it works. For me, that was a positive and I really enjoyed riding the bike for the first time here. It has been a great experience to work with the team and I think we have made some progress but maybe not as much as we wanted. I look forward to riding again at Laguna Seca where I hope we can be closer to the front."
Ayrton Badovini, X-lite X-802R.
“It’s a pity about the stop, today was a chance to make some laps and get to grips with this track. It would have been difficult to finish the race anyway due to my physical condition but I wanted to try at least. I was also having some grip issues because, having completed only one practice session, we didn't have time to identify the best set-up for our bike on this new track. Unfortunately a weekend to forget…”
