Brno MotoGP: Melandri out of Brno MotoGP race

A neck injury has forced Marco Melandri to withdraw from tomorrow’s 22-lap Czech Republic MotoGP race in Brno.

The Gresini Honda rider hasn’t been on track today after missing yesterday afternoon’s second free practice session with a lack of feeling in his left arm, sparked by a trapped nerve in his neck.

And it has been confirmed that the former world 250 champion will not take part in tomorrow’s race – round 12 of the 2007 MotoGP world championship.

Melandri did ride yesterday morning but was struck down by a neck problem, believed to be a legacy of his big crash in last month’s Laguna Seca MotoGP race in Laguna Seca. He also suffered a broken ankle in the US crash involving Kurtis Roberts but still claimed third place in the race behind Aussie duo Casey Stoner and Chris Vermeulen.

The problem was so severe that Melandri couldn’t even remove his own helmet yesterday, and he’s now targeting a return to action at the Misano MotoGP race in San Marino on September 3.

It has just been confirmed that riders will get an extra one-hour session on Friday afternoon in Misano. The extra hour is to give riders chance to get accustomed to the new Misano circuit, while 250 and 125 riders will get an extra 30 and 15 minutes respectively.

The decision means MotoGP riders will be able to select three more tyres in their allocation for the San Marino event. New tyre rules for 2007 mean riders can only pick from 31 tyres, but the extra Misano session allows them to pick one more front and two more rear tyres.