Melandri heads the field in FP1
The Italian was one of two riders to dip into the sub-2 minute bracket, ending up with a 1 minute 59.822 seconds lap.
Points leader Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) was the only other rider to match Melandri, finishing just a fraction behind.
Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK) confirmed his splendid run of form with third-quickest time ahead of Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team).
Despite a mechanical problem that kept one of his two bikes in the pits Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki Alstare) was next up in sixth, just ahead of Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team), an early faller, together with Noriyuki Haga (PATA Aprilia).
The two factory BMW Motorrad Motorsport machines of Leon Haslam and Troy Corser are currently some way off the pace, respectively in 14th and 16th.
