The Italian made the most of the short dry-track time to work with his team on finding a good setting for his satellite spec RC212V - and was pleasantly surprised by how it performed.
"I'm quite happy with this first day," said Melandri, who lapped 0.423secs slower than future Ducati team-mate
Casey Stoner. "The characteristics of this circuit are more suited to our bike and my riding style. There are no real heavy braking areas - you have to be smooth with the bike, and I like that. The bike is manageable and is working well. I've got a good feeling with it in the wet and the dry but we have to improve because I'm sure the race pace will increase tomorrow. I'm confident but I just hope the weather stabilises a little because it was really tough to ride today. The wind was really strong and the conditions changed from corner to corner."
The weather did not play into the hands of team-mate
Toni Elias, who again suffered weight transfer difficulties and was unable to find a good feeling in the time available.
"It's been a tough day - the weather was a lottery - one minute rain, then sun, then raining again," sighed the Spaniard, who set the 17th fastest time. "The track dries quickly because of the wind but it's not the same all over. Unfortunately this didn't help us set the bike up and I was struggling to get weight onto the front and get enough heat into the rear tyre. I'm not happy and I'm hoping for better weather tomorrow in order to improve."
