Italian hero Marco Melandri demonstrated there were no team orders in the Aprilia garage when he raced to his second World Superbike double of 2014 at the 10th round of 12 at Jerez, in Spain, at the weekend.

A crash while leading the previous event at Laguna in the United States all but ended his title hopes, but he showed some of the form that made him irresistible at Sepang, in Malaysia, catching and passing team-mate Sylvain Guintoli in the closing laps of both races at Jerez.

Melandri, who is believed to have already signed a deal to race in Aprilia’s MotoGP return in 2015, started slowly in race one and was as low as sixth in an eight rider dice for the lead in the early laps. As the race progressed, however, the 32-year old set about picking off the riders in front.

By lap 11 he moved into third past countryman Davide Giugliano and followed that with a contentious move on Loris Baz at the Dry Sac hairpin. The Frenchman went down after failing to anticipate Melandri’s line but his progress to the front remained unimpeded.

“My target is to go race by race,” he said. “At Laguna I was so disappointed because I thought I could have won the two races there. This weekend my team and I started off well straight away, changing very little on the bike and my RSV4 performed very well today. At the beginning of each race I struggled a bit but I started feeling better and better on the bike.”

Despite getting a fine start in the second race he was quickly demoted to fourth by a typically aggressive Giugliano move at Nieto Curve. Like race one he bided his time and refused to get flustered as Guintoli built a 1.5 second lead.

The change of temperature had affected the grip levels on track and Melandri’s set up came to him as the laps passed by. Once past third placed Sykes he closed Guintoli’s lead in a matter of laps, getting by at turn one on lap 16.

“In race two it was a bit more difficult because with the higher temperatures the track has less grip,” Melandri said. “I tried to be consistent even though I wasn’t really fast at the beginning of the race, but I managed to maintain my pace steadily, making up places on the other riders.

“I manage to catch the front group. I’m happy because I can keep going until the end and this was a great Sunday for me. Now I can relax for a few days before getting back on the track. I’m really happy.”

His maximum 50 point haul of the season sees him move up to fourth in the WSBK standings ahead of Baz.

Race one:

1. Marco Melandri ITA Aprilia Racing RSV4 20 laps
2. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Aprilia Racing RSV4 +1.397s
3. Chaz Davies GBR Ducati SBK 1199 Panigale R +4.283s
4. Jonathan Rea GBR PATA Honda CBR1000RR +5.705s
5. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +6.979s
6. Eugene Laverty IRL Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +7.342s
7. Leon Haslam GBR PATA Honda CBR1000RR +14.868s
8. Toni Elias ESP Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 +23.853s
9. David Salom ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +25.886s (E)
10. Sylvain Barrier FRA BMW Italia S1000RR +26.536s (E)
11. Jeremy Guarnoni FRA MRS Kawasaki ZX-10R +41.308s (E)
12. Alessandro Andreozzi ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +46.672s (E)
13. Sheridan Morais RSA IRON BRAIN Kawasaki ZX-10R +48.742s (E)
14. Niccolo Canepa ITA Althea Ducati 1199 Panigale R +50.131s (E)
15. Claudio Corti ITA MV Agusta RC F4RR +1m 03.677s

16. Gabor Rizmayer HUN Team Toth BMW S1000RR +1m 14.881s (E)
17. Geoff May USA Team Hero EBR 1190RX +1m 22.832s
18. Imre Toth HUN Team Toth BMW S1000RR +1m 35.170s

Not Classified

19. Aaron Yates USA Team Hero EBR 1190RX 15 laps completed
20. Alex Lowes GBR Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 13 laps completed
21. Loris Baz FRA Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 13 laps completed
22. Davide Giugliano ITA Ducati SBK 1199 Panigale R 11 laps completed
23. Bryan Staring AUS IRON BRAIN Kawasaki ZX-10R 8 laps completed (E)

Did Not Start

Luca Scassa ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R (E)

Race two:

1. Marco Melandri ITA Aprilia Racing RSV4 20 laps
2. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Aprilia Racing RSV4 +2.845s
3. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +6.097s
4. Chaz Davies GBR Ducati SBK 1199 Panigale R +7.749s
5. Jonathan Rea GBR PATA Honda CBR1000RR +7.935s
6. Eugene Laverty IRL Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +10.510s
7. Loris Baz FRA Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +16.078
8. Leon Haslam GBR PATA Honda CBR1000RR +16.098s
9. Alex Lowes GBR Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +16.554
10. Toni Elias ESP Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 +25.840s
11. Sylvain Barrier FRA BMW Italia S1000RR +36.839s (E)
12. Sheridan Morais RSA IRON BRAIN Kawasaki ZX-10R +55.531s (E)
13. Jeremy Guarnoni FRA MRS Kawasaki ZX-10R +55.980s (E)
14. Gabor Rizmayer HUN Team Toth BMW S1000RR +1m 18.354s (E)
15. Niccolo Canepa ITA Althea Ducati 1199 Panigale R +1m 26.338 (E)

16. Aaron Yates USA Team Hero EBR 1190RX +1m 31.468

Not Classified

17. Imre Toth HUN Team Toth BMW S1000RR +1m 35.170s
18. Alessandro Andreozzi ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 12 laps completed (E)
19. Geoff May USA Team Hero EBR 1190RX 11 laps completed
20. Claudio Corti ITA MV Agusta RC F4RR 8 laps completed
21. Davide Giugliano ITA Ducati SBK 1199 Panigale R 3 laps completed
22. David Salom ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1 lap completed (E)

Did Not Start

Bryan Staring AUS IRON BRAIN Kawasaki ZX-10R (E)
Luca Scassa ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R (E)

WSBK championship standings after round 10 of 12: