Marco Melandri says he “expected” 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Andrea Iannone to “s🌟truggle to score p🍃oints” in his MotoGP return at the Malaysian GP, but “didn’t think we would do so badly”.

After a four-year doping ban effectively ended his MotoGP career, one-time grand prix and World Superbike r🍌ace winner Iannone made his fir🐼st premier class start since 2019 last weekend at Sepang.

He was drafted in by VR46 to replace Fabio Di Giannantonio, who ended his season early to have surgery on the left💎 shoulder he dislocated in Austria.

Iannone showed impressive speed, endin𒉰g Friday morning ninth on new tyres and was 17th in qualifying - though threatened to go quicker without an e🌞rror on his flying lap.

Physical limitations having been off a MotoGP bike for so long hindered Iannone in the races,𒈔 with the Italian second-to-last in the sprint and𓂃 the grand prix.

Five-time Mo🎀toGP race winner Melandri felt Iannone’s return was more disappointing than he expect𒈔ed and remarked that he was lapping in 2007 times.

“I think everyone expected more from Andrea Iannone, especially afte🐽r Friday morning when it seemed he had started well,”♏ Melandri told .

“However, few had c💃hanged tyres. In Malaysia, new tyres 𒐪and cool weather make an incredible difference.

“In the race, I expected Iannone to struggle to score points, but I di🅺dn't think he would do so badly.

“I didn't see any growth over the course of the w🏅eekend. The times, from halfway through thꦕe race onwards, were decidedly slow.

“He was lapping at the times thatꦡ [Casey] Stoner♕ and I did in 2007. In my opinion, he must and can do better.”

While Melandri is correct in his lap times from 2007 being similar to Iannone’s last weekend, the VR46 stand-🌠in’s average pace at Sepang was 2m02.379s, which put him ജ47.599s off the lead in 17th.

Melandri’s average pace from 2007, in wh🌜ich he was second, was 2m02.784s.

Melandri criticism fails to consider reality

While Iannone’s headline time on Friday morning that put him ninth was skewed by him running fresh rubber while many di🍨dn’t, Melandri’s comment overlooks several key details.

The first is that﷽ Iannone’s last ride on a MotoGP bike came at the post-season Jerez test in 2019 - aero development was not advanced as it is now, while ride height devices were only just being used by Ducati.

Almost five years of bike and tyre development went on while Iannone served his four-year doping ban, while the jump from a Superbike to MotoGP machine has seldom seen anyone in🐷 recent times flourish.

Iannone had no testing time on the Ducati before his outing. Alvaro Bautista, whom Iannone took a jab at after the Malaysian GP, did have a test on the GP23 before his Sepang wildcard last year - thoughꦕ he did complete tಌhe weekend with an injury.

At the end of Q1, Iannone was 0.076s behind Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro - three times a grand prix wi🔯nner in Iannone’s absence - and only 0.314s away from VꦫR46 team-mate Marco Bezzecchi in 14th.

Iannone was only 0.383s from getting into Q2. He struggled in the races, but admitted on Saturday that the biggest limita🥂tion “was Anꦅdrea” and not the bike. For him, riding a Superbike was like riding a bicycle compared to the physical demands of MotoGP.

Perhaps on paper I♒annone’s✤ weekend will never stand out, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t make an impact.

“He wrote to me and said: ‘I’ve seen your data, man, how you ride🃏,’” Iannone revealed of what championship leader Jorge Martin said to him at Sepang.

“And I was very excited. I realised that there are points where I am very close to other Ducati riders, the problem is that I still don’t know where to brake, I have no references of how much the bike can brake, I don’t use the tyres, brakes or aerodynamics to the maximum and, above all, I c𝔉an’t brake hard physically.

“And these are things that you learn♛ on the bike, you don’t train at home. SBK has 🐻nothing to do with this bike.”