MAX BIAGGI 2010 WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPION ON AN APRILIA: THIS IS THE ITALIAN RIDER'S FIFTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. APRILIA CLOSE TO THE MANUFACTURER TITLE.
Max Biaggi is World SBK champion at the end of a difficult and exciting weekend on the Imola track.
Thanks to the fifth place earned in race 2, Biaggi brought the point gap to 63 points between him and Leon Haslam (Suzuki), who was the last rider in contention for the title (413 to 350). A gap impossible to fill with only the French round at Magny Cours to go until the end of the season.  Max Biaggi – with his fifth title after four consecutive world championships, from 1994 to 1997 in the 250 class – is the first Italian World Superbike champion.
In the manufacturer standings Aprilia (433 points) is 41 points ahead of Ducati (392). Nine points will be enough for the Veneto-based team to take the manufacturer championship.

But Imola was not the site of a simple race day: delayed at the start of race 1, Biaggi had to settle for a placement (11th). Race 2 was an entirely different story. Abandoning any use of tactics, Max forced his Aprilia RSV4 into the front positions, battling for the podium right from the first turn. The fifth place he ended up with handed Max the championship title a round early and evoked an explosion of rejoicing from the thousands of fans who had come out to the circuit to cheer on the most famous Corsair in world motorcycle racing.

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At Brno Max takes his ninth victory in the 2010 World SBK championship: a victory in race 2 which launches him 68 points out front of the closest competitor. A capital performance for the Corsair and the Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team.
After his second place in race 1, Max Biaggi takes back the keys to the Brno circuit with an unrepeatable show. The good start was just a prelude to a monologue: from the sixth lap on, after overtaking Rea, Max Biaggi set an infernal pace which the followers just couldn't match.  The 4.6 second final gap tell the whole story of Max's devastating supremacy.
The Corsair's consistency was also impressive, with points earned in all eighteen rounds with nine victories including the one today.

A good performance for team mate Leon Camier as well, finally comfortable on the Czech track after a weekend of searching for the right feeling. He finished in eighth place and is now eagerly awaiting the race on his home turf in Silverstone.

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Another double win! Max Biaggi dominates again in Race 2 at Misano. Eighth victory for Max. Fourth consecutive triumph and fourth double victory in eight rounds. Max strengthens his hold on the championship rankings (+37 points in front of the second place ranking). Aprilia first in manufacturer rankings (+30).
Max Biaggi triumphs again in race 2 and takes home his eighth victory of the season. This is the fourth consecutive affirmation for the four-time world champion on the heels of the double victory in the United States round. Max is the leader now more than ever in the world championship rankings and has now widened the gap over second place Leon Haslam, on Suzuki, to 37 points (307 vs 270). There was a 15 point gap before this triumphant Romagna weekend.
The second race was a test of strength for Biaggi who, drawn into the brawl which broke out at the beginning of the race, found himself in fourth place trailing Corser (BMW), Checa (Ducati) and Fabrizio (Ducati). On the fifth lap he began an unstoppable progression which, with spectacular passes to the damage of the riders ahead of him, brought him to the lead in the ninth lap. From then on Biaggi masterfully handled his Aprilia RSV4, increasing the gap more and more until finally, two laps from the end, he was almost eight seconds ahead of the second place rider who at that point was Leon Haslam. Max ended the race easily in control with more than four seconds of gap.


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Max Biaggi is the new leader in the World Superbike rankings. He took the lead with his win in a race 2 (doubling the success of race 1) which was conducted to perfection and which, for the Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team was triumphant thanks to Leon Camier's second place and the top spot in manufacturer standings.
At the start on the track at Miller Motorsports Park - Utah, the riders followed the same script as race 1: Carlos Checa (Ducati) courageously escaping and Biaggi chasing after him. Once again, the two gave the impression that they would be racing their own private race ahead of the pack. But a mechanical failure, this time in the seventh lap, again stole the scene from Checa. With the group already far behind and 2/3 of the race still to be run, Max set his course always keeping the pursuers at a distance thanks to a consistent fast pace and to excellent management of the advantage.




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7/27/2009

The very first victory in 2009 to combine the names of Max Biaggi and Aprilia has arrived from the historic and prestigious Brno circuit, home to the Czech round of the Superbike world Championships. The Roman driver secured his ninth victory on this track which saw him triumphant during a period from 1994 to 1996 with the RSW 250cc and which then led to three world championship titles. Max Biaggi, started off well, right behind a phenomenal Corser who took off like a rocket from the second row. The course of the race changed during the third lap, with Spies taking the lead followed by the Roman on his RSV4 and Fabrizio’s Ducati. The three stepped up the pace, leaving their competitors behind. But an episode that would change the entire race took place during the fifth lap.

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RACE 1: BIAGGI CLIMBS THE PODIUM IN THIRD PLACE, NAKANO IN FOURTH

Race 1 of the SBK Qatar round was blessed by excellent weather conditions, even though it was hotter than previous days when practice rounds were held, and fortunately the threat of sandstorms was averted.?Max Biaggi started off extremely well from third position and immediately began to lead the race with his commanding pace. During the initial laps, only Haga, Nakano, Spies and Smrz managed to keep up with him, and by the fourth lap both his Japanese teammate and the Czech driver had lost ground. For more than half the race, the pace continued according to the following script: Biaggi setting the pace, Haga, struggling to pass him, even along the straightaways, and Spies in control. Nakano was left behind, alone in fourth place, in part due to Smrz’s fall during the sixth lap. Spies took the lead in the twelfth lap, taking advantage of a small error made by the two drivers that were ahead of him and he began to force the pace, allowing him to claim his second victory of the season. Then the Biaggi-Haga duel for second place began, with the two drivers trying to pass each other, breaking away and taking advantage of the wake on the straightaways. In the end, the Japanese driver won out, while Biaggi had to settle for the third step on the podium. Thanks to the Roman driver, Aprilia once again climbs atop the Superbike podium after more than six years, with the last win secured by Haga with the twin cylinder RSV Mille on 8 September, 2002 in Race 1 at Assen. ?During the final three laps, Nakano battled against Checa’s Honda and after a series of passes with the Spaniard, he managed to defend his fourth place position.
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RACE 2: BIAGGI FIGHTS FOR THE PODIUM TO THE END, NAKANO FINISHES IN TWELFTH PLACE
Race 2 of the first round of the SBK on the Australian circuit of Phillip Island took place under more stable weather conditions and with a grey sky still looming above, but the probability of rain unlikely, race officials declared it a dry race and therefore, in the event that it would begin to rain, the new flag-to-flag rule would have been enforced.?The passionate Australian public was able to watch an exciting Race 2, which saw drivers battling it out up until the very last metre. Vince Spies who also won yesterday’s Superpole, was the top finisher, 1:286 ahead of Haga’s Ducati and 4:312 ahead of Haslam’s Honda.?Biaggi finished in fifteenth place with a star’s race. Max, who started off well from second position, immediately took the lead and after a few curves he was in the lead along with Spies and Haga. The three drivers tried to break away, with the American and the Japanese drivers vying for first place, and they managed to place a fair amount of distance between the other drivers. The race went on this way up until the fourteenth lap with the two leaders battling it out for first place and Max glued right behind them; in the following lap Fabrizio managed to catch up to the lead group and began to battle it out with Biaggi, who he passed three laps later. The race became even more intense during the final three laps with the arrival of Haslam and Laconi. Just a few curves from the end, however, in order to avoid hitting two of his competitors after they made contact, Biaggi ended up in the gravel, re-entered the race and finished in fifteenth place.?Instead, it was a twelfth place finish for Nakano who began well this time, unlike during the first rounds, and immediately set off to take over the leading positions, continuing to battle Neukirchner, Rea, Smrz and Kagayama for sixth place. Halfway through the race, Shinya began to lose ground because of irregular wear and tear on his rear tire, and he was passed by Sykes and Xaus during the last lap.??
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Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) took his 1098R to the win in his first race for the factory Ducati squad in the opening round of the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island, Australia. The Japanese rider got the better of German Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare) on the final lap to score his 34th win. The second race saw a sensational maiden triumph for WSB rookie Ben Spies from Texas, who took his Yamaha R1 to the win over Haga. The Australian Round of the championship was watched by a record 69,300 spectators, 6% up on last year's figure.
Race 1
The first race, declared ‘wet', was held on a totally dry track, and all riders opted for slicks but a few drops of rain did fall in the final stages. The potential of the K9 Suzuki GSX-R was confirmed with third place for Yukio Kagayama, who finished ahead of Michel Fabrizio on the second Ducati Xerox machine. Spies, who started from pole, ended up on the gravel at the second turn, but returned to the track to finish just outside the points in sixteenth. Max Biaggi, second on the grid with the brand-new Aprilia RSV4 machine, finished in eleventh place. The other rookie manufacturer BMW, also had a positive debut after Troy Corser recovered from the fifth row to finish eighth, the Australian setting fastest lap of the race.
Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) : "One thing that I have is great experience because in 2005 I was in 16th and won a race, so now everybody knows it doesn't matter where the start position is, we don't need qualifying! I'm very happy for the win, I have just switched to Ducati, I already had four crashes with the bike, but our team did a great job. In the last two laps it started to rain a bit then on the last lap Max passed me but I put big pressure on him thinking where to pass him. He made a mistake and I won."
Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare) : "On the last lap I made a little mistake and that probably cost me the win. The last five laps Nori was in front and I could see that he had a bit better traction on the last corner but I caught him on the last lap and I said ‘I win, I win' but it was too much and I had a small slide and that was it."
Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare) : "I'm happy to get the podium, my last one was in 2007! Both for Max and me our starting positions were not so good, and too many riders caught me in the early laps. But I did a steady ride to third."

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Lorenzo Lanzi (RG Ducati) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB) took the wins in a spectacular day of action at Valencia in front of 60,000 spectators, a record attendance for World Superbikes at the Spanish circuit.

Race 1: Carlos Checa (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) and Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare) were the protagonists of the first race. Neukirchner led every lap from pole position until the final corner, when Checa dived inside, but the Spaniard crashed and took his German rival down with him. Neukirchner suffered a broken left collarbone in the incident and failed to take part in race 2, while Checa remounted to finish fifth. The win went to Lorenzo Lanzi, the third in his career, after he passed Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) with one lap to go. Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) and Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki Alstare) were third and fourth, while Haga crashed out on lap 4 and Max Biaggi (Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati) finished out of the points in sixteenth place.
"For me it's a fantastic result" declared Lanzi. "We worked very well throughout the weekend to get this result. The team is a new one in World Superbikes this year and it's difficult for us. It was a hard-fought race today, Troy is a world champion and is very fast but you need a bit of good luck in racing and I certainly had it today."

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Phillip Island (Australia): Australian riders took the honours in the second round of the HANNspree Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island in front of a 65,400 crowd. Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) dominated both Superbike races, while Andrew Pitt clinched the Supersport win. Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) took the other two podium positions in the first Superbike encounter, while Spaniards Carlos Checa (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) and Fonsi Nieto (Alstare Suzuki) were second and third in race 2. It was a disastrous weekend for Max Biaggi (Sterilgarda Ducati), who started from 16th on the grid and then had two crashes in two races, the second of which left him nursing a broken wrist.
"It's something you dream of, to have a double win on your last time here" declared Bayliss. "I knew this weekend was going to be very difficult, everybody's riding well and there's a lot of good bikes out there. I have a great team behind me and I'm happy with the result. After the first race I was struggling the last few laps and was worried it was going to be a duel with Max, but he managed to crash and then he did so again in the second race. The times were a little bit slower in race 2 but I felt better on the bike, it was more consistent throughout and a pleasure to ride".

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