Only one point separates four competitors over places seven to ten in the current MotoGP championship rankings, with Marco Melandri seeking a strong end to the year.

The Italian raced with impressive speed at Phillip Island to claim seventh place from 14th on the grid. He challenged well with sixth placed Andrea Dovizioso early, then battled with Randy de Puniet for the majority of the race before beating the Frenchman over the line by just under 0.5s.

The LCR Honda racer is currently challenging with Hayate’s Melandri for seventh spot in the overall rankings, with Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Loris Capirossi also close by. Melandri is currently tenth on 100 points, with his threesome of riders all level on 101 points.

“It was a very tough race,” states Melandri. “At the beginning we were very, very close; it was a big group and we had a fight. After a few laps it was very difficult for me to brake hard because I didn’t have a good feeling with the bike, it was very unstable and Dovizioso established an advantage. I tried to catch him back but couldn’t, and then I had a big fight with Randy. We passed each other many times and I won that battle, so it’s been good for me because I had a very bad qualifying. I hope to be fighting for seventh position in the championship.”

Sepang is next and Melandri is expecting a battle on his hands at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix this weekend.

“I like the track,” he says. “It’s good when we have very hot conditions because in qualifying maybe we can be a bit better. We need to have a good start and the race will be long for the riders and the tyres, so it’s not easy in Malaysia.”