Why is Melandri Struggling So Much?

[bsess]

Marco Melandri, former MotoGP championship runner-up and winner of five premier class races, has struggled mightily on the factory Ducati thus far. He is on what many believe to be the best bike with the best tires, TC and engine management technology. So what gives? Why was he mired in 15th place at the Jerez tests? Last year, some speculated that Capirossi, who also never came to grips with the so called "best bike" on the grid, was experiencing an erosion of skills due to age perhaps or the arrival of a newborn. While Loris isn't exactly lighting the world on fire with Suzuki, he has been doing better thus far than Vermuelen which would suggest that rumors of his declining abilities were incorrect.

Melandri and quite a lot of other riders have been able to go fast on the Honda. This year, a surprising number of riders, both veteran and rookie, have been flying on the Yamaha. Melandri has plenty of experience on Bridgestones so it can't be the tires.

Does he have a unique style or set-up preference that just does not work with the Ducati? If so, what might that style or set-up be? How is Stoner's approach to riding that bike different from others who have or are currently riding it?

The most important question I'd love to see answered is this:
Why is it that Stoner has been the only one out of a total of 10 riders who is consistently able to go fast on what many consider to be the best bike/equipment package in MotoGP? If the Ducati is so great, how come everybody but Stoner sucks on it?

While Ducati are surely very pleased with the results they've achieved thus far, they can't be too happy with the current situation.

[tmoneyr007]

Just curious but has Marco been focusing on race setup? Has he even been testing the qualifiers on the Duc?

Stoner is a good rider but from what I've seen of other people riding the Duc. he's skills can't be that much greater than everyone elses.

Seems like "almost" anybody can jump on a Kawasaki, Honda or Yamaha and be "fairly" competitive. T. Hayden, all the rookies, riders joining other manufacturers.

I would guess that it is partly the setup of the bike and probably a greater share the electronic setup on the Duc. Stoner much have found some settings that make it work better for his riding style. Yes Stoner is good, I'm not knocking his skills, he just can't be that much better than anyone else that has ridden the new Duc.

Also Capirossi did have some success on the bike the past couple of years, seemed like every once in a while he'd get the setup/tires right and have a top 1-5 finish.

[sburns2421]

I am starting to wonder if the 800cc Ducati is a strange animal that is perfectly matched to Stoner and Stoner alone. If you look at all the extremely talented riders who have struggled so far on the bike, and how quickly Stoner got along with it, perhaps Stoner/Ducati is just an unbeatable combination.

He was competitive at every race last year, where all the other Ducati riders had a few highs and many lows.

[duckdawg]

perhaps the electronics gurus studied more of Stoner's data files than any other rider for their TC map model?...

[Rocket51]

Originally Posted by sburns2421

I am starting to wonder if the 800cc Ducati is a strange animal that is perfectly matched to Stoner and Stoner alone.

I've been thinking the same thing. I thought Melandri was going to be really fast on the Duc...maybe faster than Casey.

[tmoneyr007]

Originally Posted by Rocket51

I thought Melandri was going to be really fast on the Duc...maybe faster than Casey.

I completely agree, I thought if anyone in the recent past could ride the Duc to it's limits (along with Casey) it would be Marco, he's been fast on everything he's ridden.

[bsess]

Originally Posted by Rocket51

I've been thinking the same thing. I thought Melandri was going to be really fast on the Duc...maybe faster than Casey.

Melandri was a lot quicker last year at Jerez on the then new and undeveloped Honda than he was this year on the world beating Ducati. He was a turtle. He was having so much trouble, in fact, that he could never string together more than 3 or 4 laps at a time. Both he and Elias' best times were set on qualifiers and their average lap times on race tires were 2 to 3 seconds a lap slower than Stoner's.

Meanwhile, Pepe le Puniet hopped on the Honda and motored about like he'd been on one for years. Likewise, inexperienced MotoGP newcomers like Toseland, Dovizioso, Lorenzo, and De Angelis have been flying.

Is it possible that the Ducati is not friendly toward the 250GP bike style of riding and is more amenable to an altogether different approach? Stoner does have a strong dirt track backround but he's also clearly carries a ton of corner speed as well.

A mystery indeed......

[247]

I think you have it backwards. The Ducati is unique, and different from all the other (Japanese) bikes. It's definitely longer and lower and (perhaps) turns in more slowly. The engine is pretty peaky and I believe that there is more electronic intervention on corner entry, probably for fuel conservation.

You also have to take into account that testing has been wet a lot and generally screwed up. Plus, the Michelins are better this year it seems, and the Japanese seem to have trimmed the Ducati's power advantage.

I think the Ducati feels weird to most riders, low, slow turning and a little disconnected. It also requires a rider with great throttle control and a willingness to ignore the weirdness from the electronics.

Originally Posted by bsess

Melandri and quite a lot of other riders have been able to go fast on the Honda. This year, a surprising number of riders, both veteran and rookie, have been flying on the Yamaha. Melandri has plenty of experience on Bridgestones so it can't be the tires.

Does he have a unique style or set-up preference that just does not work with the Ducati? If so, what might that style or set-up be? How is Stoner's approach to riding that bike different from others who have or are currently riding it?

While Ducati are surely very pleased with the results they've achieved thus far, they can't be too happy with the current situation.

[Mashuri]

Hey, I have a possible hypothesis for us all to ponder: Stoner is THAT good

Just throwing out ideas...

[tmoneyr007]

Originally Posted by Mashuri

Hey, I have a possible hypothesis for us all to ponder: Stoner is THAT good

Just throwing out ideas...

How good was he in 2006?

[bsess]

Originally Posted by Mashuri

Hey, I have a possible hypothesis for us all to ponder: Stoner is THAT good

Just throwing out ideas...

In the absence of any other more concrete explanations, that would have to be it.

[bsess]

Originally Posted by tmoneyr007

How good was he in 2006?

He was a rookie who was fast, led races and crashed a fair amount. He was also pretty unhappy with what he perceived was a lack of support from Honda and his team.

[Mashuri]

Originally Posted by tmoneyr007

How good was he in 2006?

Extremely. Enough so that I, and other 'Zilla members, frequently lamented on the fact that he didn't have a full factory ride. Look what happened when he finally got one.

[bafflebrain]

Originally Posted by Mashuri

Hey, I have a possible hypothesis for us all to ponder: Stoner is THAT good with aids

Just throwing out ideas...

Fixed that for you...

[sburns2421]

Getting pole in your first year, and dominanting a championship in your sophomore season sound like something another great rider did this decade...except not even Rossi was able to get a pole his first season.

[247]

Yeah, all Rossi did his first year was get 2 wins, 10 podiums and finish second in the Championship.

But- no podiums, just goes to show he can't handle pressure.

[bafflebrain]

Originally Posted by bsess

Marco Melandri, former MotoGP championship runner-up and winner of five premier class races, has struggled mightily on the factory Ducati thus far. He is on what many believe to be the best bike with the best tires, TC and engine management technology. So what gives? Why was he mired in 15th place at the Jerez tests? Last year, some speculated that Capirossi, who also never came to grips with the so called "best bike" on the grid, was experiencing an erosion of skills due to age perhaps or the arrival of a newborn. While Loris isn't exactly lighting the world on fire with Suzuki, he has been doing better thus far than Vermuelen which would suggest that rumors of his declining abilities were incorrect.

Melandri and quite a lot of other riders have been able to go fast on the Honda. This year, a surprising number of riders, both veteran and rookie, have been flying on the Yamaha. Melandri has plenty of experience on Bridgestones so it can't be the tires.

Does he have a unique style or set-up preference that just does not work with the Ducati? If so, what might that style or set-up be? How is Stoner's approach to riding that bike different from others who have or are currently riding it?

The most important question I'd love to see answered is this:
Why is it that Stoner has been the only one out of a total of 10 riders who is consistently able to go fast on what many consider to be the best bike/equipment package in MotoGP? If the Ducati is so great, how come everybody but Stoner sucks on it?

While Ducati are surely very pleased with the results they've achieved thus far, they can't be too happy with the current situation.

Melandri is going through the same problem Capirex did. They and Rossi are from the old school of riding and have never been able to adjust to the age of riding aids (TC and the likes). Marco even said he cannot get used to going WOT while leaned over - even admitting that Stoner is able to do that feat very well.

It is too bad because Marco skills is right up there with Rossi.

[sburns2421]

Originally Posted by 247

Yeah, all Rossi did his first year was get 2 wins, 10 podiums and finish second in the Championship.

But- no podiums, just goes to show he can't handle pressure.

5 MotoGP championships versus 1, Rossi remains the best in my book.

When I looked through the archives at qualifying results, I was actually surprised he didn't get a pole in 2000. He has made up for it since then though.

[banda]

Originally Posted by tmoneyr007

How good was he in 2006?

He was more competitive for LCR than Checa was in '07

[Mashuri]

Originally Posted by bafflebrain

Fixed that for you...

And Rossi was that good with mild-mannered 4 strokes and well-developed, tamed 2-strokes. Funny how that works...