Italian rookie Marco Melandri won his first ever WSBK race at Donington Park yesterday.

Italian rookie Marco Melandri has applauded his factory Yamaha team following a superb maiden World Superbike victory in race one at Donington Park yesterday.

The former MotoGP runner-up and 250GP World Champion has made a seamless transition to WSBK aboard the YZF-R1, working his way through from ninth on the grid to win race one in the UK – just his third ever WSBK race.

Melandri, who was involved in a controversial incident with world champion Max Biaggi during qualifying, backed up his win with a solid second behind title leader Carlos Checa in race two.

“I had a great win in race one. I was just behind a very aggressive bunch of riders so I had to work hard to keep my rhythm and push through,” Melandri said. “I managed to close in on [Jakub] Smrz with five laps to go and take my first win.

“Race two was a little more difficult. I was suffering from a head cold and lost concentration a little mid-way. I am very pleased to be on the podium again.

“We have been working very hard in preparation for today’s races and we did very well, I had a lot of fun and I think we proved that we have a very good package.

“I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. Thanks to Yamaha, my team and my sponsors.”

Melandri now sits second in the world championship standings, 19 points in arrears of Checa.