Melandri hoping solutions translate to podiums

Marco Melandri heads to the third round of the 2012 World Superbike Championship at Assen with the intention of getting back on the podium following a disappointing outing at Imola. The Italian began his BMW career in style at the Phillip Island opener with a run to second place, but errors prompted by niggling issues at Imola would cap his results at a modest sixth and tenth position. Nonetheless, Melandri is feeling positive ahead of Assen following an encouraging test outing at Imola after the race weekend, solutions he hopes will see him challenge for the podium again in the Netherlands. “I have very good memories of Assen. I celebrated my first victory in the 125 cc World Championship there when I was 15, so it is a really special racetrack for me. Unfortunately the track now is much shorter. It is not the same as it was before. The old Assen was awesome. The last part of the new circuit is very nice, but the first part is quite narrow and very slow. “At the test at Imola we found some good solutions. I am now more confident and hopefully we can see the result of the work we have put in as soon as Assen. I hope to have two good races and to fight for the podium. In any case, me and the team we will give our all.”