[kropotkin thinks...] - Melandri To Join LCR And Ezpeleta On Phone To Japan?

[Ninjette Newsbot]

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In the hectic period since news of Kawasaki's withdrawal from MotoGP leaked out, speculation on the future of Team Green's riders has been widespread. Initial reports suggested that Marco Melandri would return to Gresini Honda, though there has also been talk of Melandri seriously considering World Superbikes as a viable alternative, while John Hopkins is widely predicted to either switch to the Tech 3 Yamaha squad, or else go back to Suzuki.

But now, the Italian site RacerGP.com is reporting another possible option for Melandri: It seems that Lucio Cecchinello of the LCR Honda team has already been in touch with Melandri to try and persuade the Italian to ride for him next year. Cecchinello's problem - and it is a considerable one - is that he would not be able to obtain two more bikes from Honda to support the usual team structure, where each team member has two machines, nor would he be able to afford the costs of running four bikes even if he could get the equipment from Honda.

Instead, Cecchinello has come up with an ingenious cost-cutting scheme whereby both Randy de Puniet and Marco Melandri would have one bike each. This would remove the expense of leasing extra equipment from Honda, as well as reducing the number of mechanics needed for each rider. Costs would further be cut by only attending test in Europe, saving the expense of the flyaway tests in Sepang, Qatar and Australia.

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