Melandri finished on the podium at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Le Mans – at this point he and works rider Dani Pedrosa were the only Honda riders with multiple podiums.
•
With Rossi struggling to find consistency, he was a major challenger, along with Ducati's Loris Capirossi and Honda riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa.
Marco Polo | Marco Stroppa | The Travels of Marco Polo | Marco Pierre White | Marco Antonio Muñiz | Marco Materazzi | Marco Delonge | Marco Borsato | Marco Rubio | Marco Polo Bridge Incident | Marco Island, Florida | Marco Island | Marco Ferreri | Piazza San Marco | Marco Barrientos | MARCO | San Marco Argentano | Marco Venturini | Marco Travaglio | Marco Simoncelli | Marco Pantani | Marco Pallis | Marco Huck | Marco Fu | Marco Follini | Marco Dorigo | Marco Doria | Marco Cyncar | Marco Blaauw | Marco Aurelio Soto |
In August 2008, Kawasaki signed Marco Melandri to join John Hopkins for the 2009 season.
The remaining six rounds saw erratic and relatively poor results from Azuma, while his title rivals Marco Melandri and Emilio Alzamora gained on him in the Championship.