Gearbox problems thwart Melandri

After opting to switch to his spare Ducati GP8 following his sighting lap, Melandri, racing for the Italian team for the last time, put in his best performance for almost half a season, gradually working his way up to tenth place and challenging Jorge Lorenzo for ninth.

But a gearbox glitch a few laps from the end of the race ruined his progress, sending him into the gravel and down to a disappointing 16th spot by the end of the race.

"The feeling today was a bit better," Melandri told Italia 1 TV. "I started calmly because I usually struggle a lot at the start, while today everything was better.

"Unfortunately at the end while changing down from second to first the gearbox remained in neutral and I didn't manage to stop. I almost fell, but by the time I was in first gear I was already in the gravel."

Melandri said that the race summed up a season that many predicted would result in him challenging Casey Stoner for the number one position in the team, but has fallen a long way short of expectations.

The Italian rider could only manage 17th place in the final championship positions, although he is not keen to put the blame on the team.

"Unfortunately this has been a bit the story of my season: when things looked like starting to go better, I would always drop down in the tunnel again," he added.

"It's been a very difficult year for me and for all boys in the garage working with me. They've always worked very hard, but unfortunately something didn't work and we couldn't do anything good."

"I think it's a mixture of things. I think that to go back over the mistakes to see who made them and why is useless for me, it wouldn't give me a better future.

"So I just want to think about the present, get ready for tomorrow, and leave behind the past. It's been a difficult year, I suffered and it was useful experience."

Melandri, who will race for Kawasaki next year, will have his first ride on the Ninja machine on Monday at Valencia.