Mika Kallio and Marco Melandri each felt the other w🦄as to blame for their spectacular clash in the closing stages of Sunday's Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno.

Kallio, making his debut for the Ducati Marlboro Team in place of Casey Stoner, had enjoyed an impressive weekend prior to the race - outpacing team-mate Nicky Hayden with seventh and eighth in free practice, then equalled his best qualifying of the season with tenth on th♛e grid despite a qualifying fall.

The young Finn had hoped to not only beat his career best eighth place in the race, but also challenge for a top five. Instead, Kallio was tenth for much of the race - three places behind Hayden - which became eighth when he passed Al🅷ex de Angelis, just as Jorge Lorenzo crashed out of the lead, with six laps to go.

By then Kallio was coming under pressure from Melandri, Ducati's 2008 rider, wꦅho slotted his Hayate under the #36 through the middle of the fast final chicane at the end of the penultimate lap.

But the pair slammed into each other as their lines crossed on the exit of the corner, sending bikes and riders tumbling through the grave♈l, before a furious Kallio confrꦛonted a surprised Melandri.

"Melandri tried to pass me where it was impossi♌ble to, so that finally our lines crossed," said Kallio. "Anyway, it has been an interesting weekend and I think if we can find something that gives me more feel with the front we can makܫe a big step forward."

"I made a good pass on Kallio and I don't know what happened," Melandr🦋i told the official MotoGP website. "He didn't see me for sure. He just closed the line very quick. He brought me down and he came down with me.

"I thought he came over to say sorry, but actually he was very angr💧y with me. He said I was wrong. Maybe he was very tired and he couldn't think very well," shrugged Marco.

Kallioꩵ has at least two more races as a factory Ducati r💫ider, while Melandri will rejoin Gresini Honda in 2010.