Melandri signs up for Speedcar Series
Added on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Melandri signs up for Speedcar Series
Marco Melandri has secured a drive in the Speedcar Series Championship amid the growing uncertainty over his future in MotoGP.
The Italian, who has been left without a team following the withdrawal of the Kawasaki Racing Team from the MotoGP championship, has taken up a ride in the Speedcar Series which gets underway this weekend in Losail.
The series, in its second year of competition, features a number of former F1 starts, with Brit Johnny Herbert the current defending champion. Jacques Villeneve, Jean Alesi and Melandri’s new Team Lavaggi teammate Heinz Harald Frentzen are also on the grid for the series.
All drivers compete in identical V8 620 hp stock cars, with no pit-stops and no electronic driver aids.
“Valentino Rossi has already shown that those guys also know how to race a four-wheel-vehicle,” said Speedcar regular Christopher Zoechling. “I am sure Marco will do well, although our cars are pretty hard to handle.”
Melandri’s future has been in doubt ever since Kawasaki pulled out of MotoGP at the beginning of the year due to budget constraints. Talks over keeping the Kawasaki brand in the competition under a privateer entry have stalled and the Italian has himself conceded that he may be forced to miss out in 2009.
