A portrait of dejection, Marco Melandri is nothing like the rider many of us remember. Interviewed by Neil Hodgson, Melandri said he cannot ride the bike as it is, he is just a passenger. The current Aprilia RS-GP takes him for a lonely ride to last place, over and over. But he’s trying to stay positive as he awaits further development of the machine.

Perhaps a replica with an oversized head would help him. This one is in Johann Zarco’s garage. Is it supposed to look like the French Moto2 rider? I suppose it looks more like Marco than it does Karel Hannika but if not for the black leathers I don’t think I’d guess who this is supposed to be if I didn’t know. And I’m still not sure.

After practicing a wet race bike swap on Thursday, the Repsol Honda team placed these markers in pit lane for both of their riders. The different approaches to switching from one bike to another are apparent from the sticker locations.

Marquez bunny hops from one bike to the other. Pedrosa prefers to dismount and step over to the other, albeit in a hurry.

So Marquez is directed to park the bike he arrives on close and parallel to the replacement bike. The two red arrows direct him to the parking space, which is right next to he bike he’ll jump onto.

Pedrosa is direct to park far enough away that he has room to dismount. He also comes in at an angle, rather than parallel to his replacement bike.

Notice that Pedrosa’s team has also indicated his replacement bike will be pointed slightly back toward the circuit rather than straight ahead, as Marquez’ bike will be.

Things have been rough for Nicky Hayden since leaving Ducati. Things were tough at Ducati, too. And his final seasons with HRC were no picnic as he struggled with a bike designed for the smaller frame of Dani Pedrosa. So really, things have been tough for him since 2006. His return to Honda hasn’t seen much improvement, with last year’s customer Honda being underwhelming for a world champion who hoped to return to fighting at the front. 2015’s RC213V-RS is not the speed machine it was promised to be in the off season, and Hayden’s Hondas have been having electrical problems to boot. He needed a ride back to the paddock early in Friday’s FP3 session after this bike stopped.

Stefan Bradl is also having a rough time since leaving the LCR Honda team to take over Aleix Espargaro’s former Forward Yamaha seat. Brad used to be one of the most interesting riders to watch and photograph. But this season he is downright dull as a subject. Will he be in MotoGP next season? Some say WSBK is more likely.

But as the fortunes of other riders wane, Valentino Rossi seems to evolve with age, rather like a fine wine changing its character and yes, possibly even improving. Where most of his former success came against riders like Biaggi and Gibernau, Rossi’s success declined when he faced the latest generation of top riders. Pedrosa, Lorenzo, Stoner, and now Marquez have elevated MotoGP rider performance so much that no one else can win a race. But at 36, Rossi can not only win, he is leading the championship and has at least a chance of claiming his 10th title. Love him or hate him, if you don’t find his story fascinating you’re not paying attention.

Photographs: ©2015 by Scott Jones / PHOTO.GP – All Rights Reserved

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