PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE Marco Melandri got his first crack at Aprilia’s MotoGP bike at the first post-season test in Valencia Spain. Formerly the factory’s World Superbike rider, Melandri makes the switch to MotoGP with Aprilia, as the Italian OEM switched its focus to MotoGP a year earlier than planned. “Yeah, I mean it’s not easy because I have to do again from zero to everything,” Melandri said about his feelings on returning to MotoGP. “So this will not be easy, but I’m happy because maybe when nobody expect anything from you maybe you can get something positive.” So now instead of being in contention for a World Championship in Superbikes, Melandri shifts to the role of developing a bike from the ground up in MotoGP. After all, the reason Melandri left the more prestigious MotoGP World Championship at the end of 2010 was because he wanted a shot at winning again and that’s not a reality when you’re starting a project from scratch. “Yeah that was the biggest question to choose what to do,” Melandri said. “In the end I was already an Aprilia rider. They asked me to come here to work together because I think we made a very good job last year in Superbike. So they understand maybe together we can work to grow up the bike. So it’s not easy, but I think for me it was the best option at the moment.” With his experience in MotoGP, what were his expectations for Aprilia and this development year? “I think it’s too early now to say because we don’t know our potential actually,” Melandri said. “So we should need to wait some days in the dry. I hope tomorrow, and to get some days in the end of November in Jerez in the dry to understand. We know we are late that’s for sure.” So what’s the difference between the World Superbike and MotoGP machine? In it’s early stages, Melandri felt the biggest difference was the tires – the World Superbike Pirellis to the MotoGP Bridgestones. “I think the tire makes maybe bigger difference than the chassis because the chassis is a little bit different, but not too much at the moment,” Melandri said. “But the tire gives you much different feeling. I feel the bike is much more stiffer in the dry, even in the wet. This for me I think will take time to get used.” As for the chassis, it’s a bit smaller, but still closer to its Superbike DNA. “At the moment we modify the fuel tank from Superbike, but we will get a new one – smaller,” Melandri said. “The chassis looks a little bit smaller, but actually the engine is based for Superbike so we cannot make something smaller. The new engine will be smaller, but will be only 2016.” And when it comes to electronics, Melandri felt they already had a great base there and was confident their strategy for the GP bikes development. “We start from the Superbike because I don’t think the Superbike level is very bad,” Melandri said. “Because it’s free so we can do everything we want. And next year we will have [Magneti] Marelli with Aprilia software. So I think we have some strategy working very good. Some other area we have to make some improvement, but we already have some idea how to do it. I’m very confident actually.” If you look at Valentino Rossi and his resurgence from changing his riding style, is Melandri going to have to do the same? “I think every bike needs a different riding style and sometimes you have to be open to a different way to ride,” Melandri said. “Sometimes can be like a fashion style. So now if you don’t put an elbow on the ground you cannot win. But if somebody wins without doing [something new], maybe everybody stops to do it again. So I think you must be natural and, for sure, the riding style depends on how you lean the bike or use the throttle, this is the more important thing how to change and to learn.” Another big change in Melandri’s life was fatherhood. Did that change the way he approached racing? “Not really,” Melandri said. “But it changed a lot my lifestyle for sure, but I can say in better ways. Yeah, it’s nice.”