Marco Melandri
Melandri began racing minimotos at the age of eight and first raced in the 125cc world championship at the age of 15.
He won his first GP race at Assen in 1998 at the tender age of 15 years and 324 days which, not surprisingly, made him the youngest ever GP winner.
The Ravenna-born ace, who lives in Derbyshire in the UK, stepped up to the 250 championship in 2000 and, two years later, set another record in becoming the youngest ever 250 world champion at the age of 20 years and 74 days.
Moving up to MotoGP in 2003, Melandri first rode for Honda in the Telefonica Movistar team with Sete Gibernau in 2005
Rider information
| Team | San Carlo Honda Gresini |
| Racing number | 33 |
| Race machine | Honda RC212V |
| Date of birth | 07/Aug/1982 |
| Birthplace | Ravenna, Italy |
| Height | 166cm |
| Weight | 62kg |
Rider career
| First Grand Prix | 1997 - Czech Republic (125cc) |
| MotoGP debut | 2003 - Japan |
| First Grand Prix win | 1998 - Netherlands (125cc) |
| Total Grand Prix wins | 22 (7 x 125cc, 10 x 250cc, 5 MotoGP) |
| Total podium places | 62 (17 x 125cc, 25 x 250cc, 20 x MotoGP) |
| World titles | 1 (250cc 1998) |
Rider career
