Editor

It took just three*races*for Marco Melandri to join the elite group of riders to win in World Superbike. It came about in the first race at Donington Park, where the Italian made a splendid recovery on Jakub Smrz, who had been in the lead for since the early stages. Once he reached second place on lap 17 of the scheduled 23, the Italian soon made up the three seconds between himself and the Czech rider and then passed him with two corners to go to score his maiden SBK victory and his first world championship win since 2006.


"I had a great win in race one," said the Yamaha World Superbike man. "I was just behind a very aggressive bunch of riders so I had to work hard to keep my rhythm and push through. I managed to close in on Smrz with five laps to go and take my first win."


In the second race Melandri then put his Yamaha on the podium for the third time this season with a second place for a further 20 points after a great scrap with Leon Camier (Aprilia).


"Race two was a little more difficult. I was suffering from a head cold and lost concentration a little mid-way. I am very pleased to be on the podium again. We have been working very hard in preparation for the races and we did very well. I had a lot of fun and I think we proved that we have a very good package. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season. Thanks to Yamaha, my team and my sponsors."


Melandri now lies second in the table, 19 points behind leader Carlos Checa (Ducati Althea).

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Source: World Superbike

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Kawasaki Racing