It was announced earlier today that WorldSBK rider Marco Melandri will continue his racing efforts with the Aruba.it Racing Ducati outfit for yet another season in 2018.
The 35 year old Italian has proven himself to be quite a rider on board the Ducati 1199 Panigale R with consistent podium finishes and even a race win this season.
Melandri currently sits fourth in the 2017 WorldSBK championship standings with 189 points; just 37 points behind his team mate, Chaz Davies.
Good news from the world of WorldSBK! It seems that the Aruba.it Racing Ducati team has decided to continue with the legendary Italian rider Marco Melandri for yet another season. Melandri will stick with Chaz Davies for the 2018 Superbike World Championship.
The former 250cc GP champion made a surprising return to the WorldSBK arena after his brutal season in the MotoGP with the Aprilia squad. After 18 months of non racing, the 35 year old from Ravenna, Italy was picked up by the Aruba.it Racing Ducati outfit and the results have been very positive.
While there were doubts on Melandri’s ever growing age and time away from racing, he proved himself to be quite an asset with constant podium finishes and even a race win on board the race-ready Ducati 1199 Panigale R.
So far, it seems that the team is quite happy with Melandri’s performance as well as presence in their garage. Even after quite a rough time in his racing career, he currently sits fourth in the 2017 WorldSBK world championship standings with 189 points; just 37 points shy of his British team mate.
“I’m really happy for the opportunity to prolong this professional collaboration, which represented a new beginning in my career as a rider,” said Melandri. “Together with Ducati and Aruba.it, we enjoyed some really memorable moments, while in other occasions I think my long break from racing affected our performance, so I’m sure there’s still plenty of room to improve.”
“To this end, continuing with the same team and the same bike represents the best possible opportunity to achieve higher goals. I’m ready to tackle a new season with more experience and confidence, and it’s a challenge that makes me incredibly happy. First of all, however, we need to finish the current championship as strongly as possible. With five rounds to go, we’ll always give our 100 percent and assess our performance in the end.”
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Source: WorldSBK
