In contrast to most of his asphalt colleagues, newly minted Yamaha superbike rider Marco Melandri is also doing well in the mud! During a special Wings for Life charity race in Faenza, Marco won the final standings from other road racers and Italian celebrities. Melandri beat Andrea Dovizioso and superbike rider Christian Ravaglia, among others.
The little Italian, a former 250cc World Champion, rode a 2011 YZ450 F prepared by the Yamaha Monster energy MX Team. It was a standard motorcycle that was equipped with an Akrapovic exhaust and, given the enormous weight of the star rider, the suspension was also softened. Melandri said: “It's great to win such a fun race of course! I've always been a big motocross fan, I used to train in the same gym as Tony Cairoli and we're good friends. If I get the chance I will also watch a motocross GP. I recently switched to Yamaha and it is always nice to be able to start a new collaboration successfully!”
Anyone who wants to get a better idea of Melandri's qualities as a motocross rider should watch this clip from last year:
