Kawasaki confirm Melandri's arrival

The Italian announced last month that he would leave Ducati after one year of a two year deal to go move to the Japanese manufacturer next year, after a dismal season in which he never got to grips with his Desmosedici.

Michael Bartholemy, Kawasaki's competition manager, had already publicly expressed interest in the former 250cc champion over two months ago.

"We started talking to Marco about riding for Kawasaki at the beginning of 2007, but contractual obligations on his part meant that it wasn't possible to secure his services for this season," explained Bartholemy.

"Since that time we've kept in close contact with Marco's management company, which meant we were able to reopen negotiations immediately once we heard that he would be available in 2009.

"This has been a tough year for Marco, but it's obvious when you speak to him that he's lost none of the drive and determination that have so far brought him five race wins and 14 podium finishes in the premier class, despite suffering results this season that don't truly reflect his talent.

"I'm confident that Marco will adapt quickly to Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-RR and that, together with John, he'll be able to take us to the next level with the development of the all-new 2009 bike.

"What is certain is that, with Marco and John, we will go into 2009 with our strongest rider line-up since Kawasaki made their full-time return to the premier class in 2002.

"Now we need to translate this strength and experience into improving our results, with achieving our first race win in MotoGP obviously the major goal," concluded Bartholemy.

Melandri is expected to have his debut on the Ninja ZX-RR at Valencia in October, in the two-day test that follows the end of the season.