Marco Melandri · Biography

Marco Melandri made his Grand Prix debut in 1997 at the Czech Grand Prix in Brno. He raced as a 125cc wild card on a Honda RS125R and finished 17th. Born in Ravenna, Italy, on 7 August 1982, he went on to race in 125cc, 250cc, MotoGP and the Superbike World Championship, winning 22 Grands Prix and one world title.

Early years in 125cc

In 1998 he contested his first full season on the Benetton Matteoni Honda. At the Dutch TT in Assen he took his first win aged 15 years and 324 days, making him the youngest Grand Prix winner at the time. He finished the year third with two wins, eight podiums and 202 points. In 1999, riding for Benetton Playlife, he won five races and stood on the podium nine times. He ended the championship second, a single point behind Spain’s Emilio Alzamora.

Aprilia and the 250cc title

In 2000 he moved up to 250cc with Aprilia and finished fifth, with four podiums but no wins. In 2001, with MS Aprilia Racing, he won his first race in the class and placed third on 194 points. The 2002 season was his breakthrough: nine wins and twelve podiums from sixteen races and 298 points. That made him 250cc world champion at 20 years and 74 days, the youngest title winner in the class until Dani Pedrosa lowered the mark in 2004.

Stepping up to MotoGP with Yamaha

In 2003 he moved to MotoGP on the Yamaha YZR-M1. The adjustment was hard: he finished 15th with 45 points and no podiums. In 2004, with the Tech3 team, he scored his first two premier-class podiums and finished 12th on 75 points.

Runner-up with Honda in 2005

For 2005 he joined Fausto Gresini’s team, racing as Movistar Honda on the RC211V. It was his best year in MotoGP: he won in Istanbul and Valencia, took seven podiums and 220 points and finished runner-up in the world championship behind Valentino Rossi. In 2006, with Fortuna Honda Gresini, he won three races, in Turkey, at Le Mans and at Phillip Island, and was fourth on 228 points. He stayed with Gresini in 2007 on the new 800cc RC212V, scoring three podiums and finishing fifth with 187 points.

Ducati, Kawasaki and a return to Gresini

In 2008 he signed for the factory Ducati Marlboro team but never got to grips with the Desmosedici GP8, ending 17th with 51 points. In 2009 he rode the Kawasaki of the Hayate Racing Team, a scaled-back outfit after the factory’s withdrawal, and still finished second at Le Mans, his only podium of the year; he was tenth overall. In 2010 he went back to San Carlo Honda Gresini and again finished tenth, on 103 points. He returned to MotoGP with Aprilia in 2015 but left the team after failing to score in the first eight races.

The Superbike World Championship

In 2011 he switched to World Superbike with Yamaha. In his first season he won four races, took fifteen podiums and finished runner-up with 395 points. He raced for BMW Motorrad Motorsport in 2012 and 2013: six wins and third place in 2012, three wins and fourth in 2013. In 2014, with Aprilia, he won six races and was fourth again. After his 2015 spell in MotoGP he came back to Superbike in 2017 with Aruba.it Racing-Ducati, winning one race and finishing fourth. In 2018 he added two wins and placed fifth. Between 2011 and 2018 he collected 22 wins and 72 podiums in the series.

Retirement and comeback with Barni

In July 2019 he announced he would retire at the end of that season, which he rode for the GRT Yamaha team, finishing ninth. On 16 July 2020 his return was announced with Barni Ducati, replacing the injured Leon Camier. He raced four rounds on the Panigale V4 R and in September 2020 announced his final retirement; the team handed his seat to Samuele Cavalieri for the last three events.