Melandri gave Checa a run for his money in the first race, too. That second race was one of the best I've ever seen -- action all the way through, and you didn't know who was going to take it until the last corner. This is fun!
Not that it really means anything, but Melandri posted the fastest time in the first practice round at Misano, then was fourth fastest in the first qualifying session. The top 18 riders in first qualifying were grouped together within 1.093 seconds of each other.