Race focus for Melandri

Honda rider Marco Melandri says he is not concerned about being at the top end of the winter testing timesheets with the new MotoGP season just five weeks away.

Melandri has finished 2007 tests in Sepang and Phillip Island surprisingly off the pace of the front-runners, but he says his lowly finishes are no major worry.

“In Phillip Island if I could do a 1.30.4 lap then nothing changes for me right now. My goal now is to understand and be ready for the first race. This is what I didn’t do last year. 

“Last year I was just thinking about the lap times and many times I was fast, but for the first race I was so bad and I don’t want to do this again. I’m not racing now so it’s not so important to be 10 seconds faster,”said Melandri, who was the most successful Honda rider in 2006 with three victories.