After fully recovering from his injuries at Motegi four weeks ago Marco Melandri proved again today that he is capable of fighting consistently at the front of the MotoGP pack.

After an incredible battle for victory in Qatar, Marco was again one of the stars of the race in the Australian Grand Prix. The Italian lined up on the third row of the grid but made a great start and was able to stay with the lead group from start to finish. Chased by Carlos Checa, Marco held third place for the majority of the race and even threatened to steal second from Nicky Hayden before eventually missing out on the podium after a draft pass from Checa out of the final corner relegated him to fourth. Despite his disappointment Marco Melandri now lies second in the championship standings, level on points with Nicky Hayden.

It was a tough weekend for his team-mate Sete Gibernau, who was unable to resolve the problems he endured during practice ahead of the race. The Spanish rider did everything he could to seal a top five finish but did not quite have enough to challenge for the podium.

MARCO MELANDRI (4^th): “It’s been a really nice race – I fought hard until the end and I was hoping to finish on the podium so it is a shame. I thought I had Checa under control but he passed me in the slipstream. Despite that I am satisfied – it has been a difficult weekend but this morning the team did a great job and the bike was working really well. I gave my maximum and I am happy. I arrived here two points behind Max Biaggi and now I am level with Nicky Hayden in second place. It will be important to do well in the final two races if I want to finish as runner-up in the championship.”

SETE GIBERNAU (5^th): “We’ve struggled all weekend. This morning I thought we took a step forward in the warm up but in the race I had a lot of problems. The bike was sliding around and I couldn’t finish any higher.”

MOTOGP RACE
1. V.Rossi (Ita/Yamaha)
2. N.Hayden (Usa/Honda) 1.007
3. C.Checa (Sp/Ducati)4.215
4. M.Melandri (Ita/Honda) + 2.232
5. S.Gibernau (Sp/Honda)  + 14.088

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
1. V.Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) 331 points
2. N.Hayden (Usa/honda) 170
3. M.Melandri (ita/Honda ) 170
4. C.Edwards (Usa/yamaha) 162
…
7. S.Gibernau (Sp/Honda) 137