Melandri returns to Gresini Honda

Honda Gresini will be an all-Italian MotoGP team in 2010, with former rider Marco Melandri returning to the fold, to be joined by countryman and reigning 250cc world champion Marco Simoncelli.

The 27-year-old Melandri was runner-up in the 2005 MotoGP title with Gresini, staying with the outfit for another two years before joining Ducati in 2008.

After an unmitigated disaster with Ducati, Melandri switched to Kawasaki in 2009 – well so he thought before the factory officially suspended all MotoGP activity.

He eventually found a reprieve with Hayate Racing on a Kawasaki and has impressed with limited resources, obviously enough to pique the interest of Gresini.

“It gives us great pride and satisfaction to have Marco Melandri back with us,” said Fausto Gresini boss. “I have always had great belief in his potential and to get our sporting and technical project with him back on track following his experiences with other teams creates fresh and important motivation.

“Melandri is a huge part of the Honda Gresini story. We have had great results together that over time consolidated a relationship founded on mutual respect and friendship.

“With Simoncelli and Melandri together in the premier class and San Carlo as main sponsor we have a true Italian flavour to the team.”

The decision to hire two new riders means that Toni Elias and Alex De Angelis will have to find other suitors to continue their MotoGP careers.

In other rider news, HRC president Mr Tetsuo Suzuki has announced that his company has come to an in-principal agreement for Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso to continue riding in the factory Honda squad for the next two years.

With the slew of announcments on line-ups for 2010, the Bikesales Network reckons the grid will look something like this:

Fiat Yamaha
Valentino Rossi
Jorge Lorenzo

Marlboro Ducati
Casey Stoner
Nicky Hayden

Repsol Honda
Dani Pedrosa
Andrea Dovizioso

LCR Honda
TBA

Scot Honda
Gabor Talmacsi

Meanwhile, world champion Rossi survived a late crash during qualifying at this weekend’s Czech Republic Grand Prix ay Brno to take his fifth pole position of the season.

Second on the grid is Rossi’s teammate Jorge Lorenzo, from Pedrosa and Elías, the latter holding it together after the news that he will not be riding for Gresini team next year.

Aussie Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) will start the race from row four.

In race one of Red Bull Rookies at Brno, Australians Arthis Sissis, Josh Hook and Dylan Mavin were 15th, 16th and 24th respectively. The spectacular high-voltage thriller was won by French teenager Florian Marino, with the top nine riders separated by just 1.520secs.