Max Biaggi - Aprilia 2010

Max Biaggi was cheered on by his home crowd at the weekend after winning both races for the Aprilia team at the Italian circuit in Misano.

Race One

It was the BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Troy Corser that led the first race of the day for the first 16 laps until he was passed by the Italian Aprilia rider.

Leon Haslam got off to a terrible start and was shuffled back to ninth place after being forced wide by the Suzuki Alstare rider Sylvain Guintoli through the first bend.

Jonathan Rea who had qualified in sixteenth on the grid, barged his way through to eighth place early on in the race before being passed by Haslam on lap 3.

The front five runners, Corser, Biaggi, Carlos Checa, Guintoli and Michel Fabrizio soon managed to create a gap as the battle went on for sixth place between Cal Crutchlow and Noriyuki Haga.  Crutchlow made a mistake on lap 4 after making a move past Haga and low-sided off of his machine and was out of the race.

On lap 9, Biaggi made a move on Corser to take the lead but only briefly as Corser retook his position before the whole sequence took place once again leaving Biaggi this time in front.

As Corser tried to keep the pressure on Biaggi he ran wide at the left hand bend at Quercia allowing Checa a chance to get past him.

Biaggi fought off the attempts of Checa to pass him and crossed the line to take his seventh win of the season ahead of Checa and Corser.  Fabrizio finished in fourth followed by Guintoli in fifth.

Leon Camier on the second Aprilia crossed the line in sixth place after qualifying in fourteenth on the grid ahead of Noriyuki Haga for seventh place.  Haslam finished in eighth place followed by Shane Byrne and James Toseland in ninth and tenth respectively.

Here are the results;

1. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 24 laps
2. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +0.387s
3. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +0.822s
4. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 +4.911s
5. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +5.916s
6. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +8.658s
7. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +11.872s
8. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +11.907s
9. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +16.490s
10. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +18.458s
11. Luca Scassa ITA Team Supersonic Ducati 1198 +18.646s
12. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 +19.315s
13. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +25.405s
14. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +31.671s
15. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +39.658s

16. Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +48.137s
17. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +56.316s
18. Federico Sandi ITA Gabrielli Aprilia RSV-4 +56.667s
19. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +57.218s

Not Classified

20. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR 8 laps completed
21. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 4 laps completed
22. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1098R 1 lap completed

DQ. Broc Parkes AUS Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR

Race Tw0

In the second race of the day at the Italian circuit it was Troy Corser who once again led as the riders headed into the first corner ahead of Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi.

Biaggi was briefly dropped back to fourth place after being passed by fellow Italian Michel Fabrizio on lap 2 before setting a new lap record.  The Aprilia rider soon got his head down and began to chase down third place man Checa who was shuffled back to the field by Fabrizio and then Biaggi.  Haslam and Crutchlow followed the lead and both made their moves on Checa dropping him back to sixth place.

Fabrizio past Corser on lap 7 of the race to take the lead as Biaggi also made his move slip in behind his fellow countryman for second place.

It didn’t take long for the Aprilia rider to get past Fabrizio and finished four seconds ahead of the second placed man for his fourth double win of the season.

The battle continued for second place with Haslam also passing Fabrizio on lap 14 while Fabrizio had then to deal with a challenging Crutchlow. The Ducati rider had his position snatched away on lap 24 before retaking it within the next two laps.

Haslam crossed the line for second followed by Fabrizio in third, Crutchlow in fourth, Checa in fifth, Guintoli in sixth, Shane Byrne seventh, Luca Scassa in eighth, Noriyuki Haga in ninth and Corser in tenth.

Corser made a mistake on the final lap after running off the circuit while trying to defend his position from the pressuring of Carlos Checa.  James Toseland failed to finish the race after falling from the Yamaha Sterilgarda at turn one of lap 11.

Here are the results;

1. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 24 laps
2. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +4.095s
3. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 +4.631s
4. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +5.014s
5. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +6.256s
6. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +7.677s
7. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +10.144s
8. Luca Scassa ITA Team Supersonic Ducati 1198 +10.942s
9. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +13.640s
10. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +16.279s
11. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +17.799s
12. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +22.793s
13. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 +24.131s
14. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +28.212s
15. Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +36.551s

16. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +49.636s
17. Broc Parkes AUS Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR +50.041s
18. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +51.246s
19. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +58.174s
20. Federico Sandi ITA Gabrielli Aprilia RSV-4 +1min 10.688s

Not Classified

21. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 10 laps completed
22. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR 7 laps completed
23. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1098R 2 laps completed

Noriyuki Haga - WSB Valencia 2009

The Ducati Xerox rider Noriyuki Haga, dominated both races this weekend at the third round of the World Superbike Championship in Valencia.

Race 1

Max Neukirchner on the Suzuki Alstare took the lead until lap 3 when he was passed by Haga while Superpole winner Ben Spies on the Yamaha WSB crashed out on lap 10.

The American finally passed Regis Laconi on the Ducati to move into third place but while battling to pass Neukirchner, he made a mistake and was seen sliding the R1 across the circuit and out of the race.

Haga’s team-mate Michel Fabrizio followed to take second place followed by Neukirchner in third for the final step on the podium. Laconi finished in fourth ahead of Leon Haslam on the Stiggy Honda and Yukio Kagayama on the Suzuki Alstare.

Here are the results;

1 – Noriyuki Haga – Ducati Xerox Team – 36′44.766

2 – Michel Fabrizio – Ducati Xerox Team – 36′48.443

3 – Max Neukirchner – Suzuki Alstare BRUX – 36′48.725

4 – Régis Laconi – DFX Corse – 36′48.976

5 – Leon Haslam – Stiggy Racing Honda – 36′58.590

6 – Yukio Kagayama – Suzuki Alstare BRUX – 36′59.328

7 – Tom Sykes – Yamaha WSB – 36′59.921

8 – Max Biaggi – Aprilia Racing – 37′01.082

9 – Shane Byrne – Sterilgarda – 37′05.127

10 – Broc Parkes – Kawasaki World Superbike R.T. – 37′08.644

11 – John Hopkins – Stiggy Racing Honda – 37′15.668

12 – Ryuichi Kiyonari – Ten Kate Honda Racing – 37′16.064

13 – Ruben Xaus – BMW Motorrad Motorsport – 37′17.426

14 – Makoto Tamada – Kawasaki World Superbike R.T. – 37′26.922

15 – Tommy Hill – Honda Althea Racing – 37′27.806

16 – Karl Muggeridge – Celani Race – 37′29.970

17 – Ayrton Badovini – PSG1-1 Corse – 37′36.789

18 – Luca Scassa – Team Pedercini – 37′37.240

19 – David Salom – Team Pedercini – 37′40.541

20 – Matteo Baiocco – PSG1-1 Corse – 37′40.968

Not Classified

RT – Carlos Checa – HANNspree Ten Kate Honda – 34′56.934

RT – David Checa – Yamaha France GMT 94 Ipone – 21′42.611

RT – Brendan Roberts – Guandalini Racing – 19′41.674

RT – Ben Spies – Yamaha WSB – 14′25.348

RT – Vittorio Iannuzzo – Squadra Corse Italia – 14′46.605

RT – Roland Resch – TKR Suzuki Switzerland – 10′03.033

RT – Jakub Smrz – Guandalini Racing – 8′09.735

RT – Troy Corser – BMW Motorrad Motorsport – 1′41.902

RT – Jonathan Rea – HANNspree Ten Kate Honda – 2′59.126
Race 2

Haga continued with his theme of domination in the second race taking the lead on lap 5 followed by Spies in second place and Fabrizio in third.  In fourth place was Laconi ahead of Haslam in fifth, Carlos Checa in sixth on the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda and Neukirchner in seventh.

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne was disappointed by his weekend after revealing that he was suffering from a knee infection. His problems began on Friday when the pain from his knee prevented him from being on the pace during free practice and forced a visit to the on-site Clinica Mobila. He crashed out on the second session of the Superpole and only managed a ninth place in race one and an eleventh in race two.

The WSB rookie, Tom Sykes paid for the mistake he made in the qualifying session and had a fight on his hands to regain some places during the race. The Yamaha rider finished in seventh in race one but had a disastrous second race despite getting off to a good start. The British rider got hemmed-in by a mob of riders going into turn 2 while others went around the outside. While chasing Neukirchner for eighth place he almost made contact with the Aprilia rider Max Biaggi forcing himself to go wide and losing further places.

The next round of the World Superbike Championship takes place at Assen on 26th April.

Here are the results,
1 – Noriyuki Haga – Ducati Xerox Team – 36′46.927

2 – Ben Spies – Yamaha WSB – 36′52.032

3 – Michel Fabrizio – Ducati Xerox Team – 36′53.313

4 – Régis Laconi – DFX Corse – 36′53.500

5 – Leon Haslam – Stiggy Racing Honda – 37′01.002

6 – Carlos Checa – HANNspree Ten Kate Honda – 37′04.260

7 – Max Neukirchner – Suzuki Alstare BRUX – 37′06.134

8 – Max Biaggi – Aprilia Racing – 37′07.624

9 – Ryuichi Kiyonari – Ten Kate Honda Racing – 37′07.942

10 – Tom Sykes – Yamaha WSB – 37′09.508

11 – Shane Byrne – Sterilgarda – 37′09.531

12 – John Hopkins – Stiggy Racing Honda – 37′10.879

13 – Jonathan Rea – HANNspree Ten Kate Honda – 37′16.009

14 – Jakub Smrz – Guandalini Racing – 37′16.204

15 – Troy Corser – BMW Motorrad Motorsport – 37′19.311

16 – Ruben Xaus – BMW Motorrad Motorsport – 37′22.052

17 – Broc Parkes – Kawasaki World Superbike R.T. – 37′25.271

18 – Brendan Roberts – Guandalini Racing – 37′26.088

19 – Karl Muggeridge – Celani Race – 37′26.301

20 – David Checa – Yamaha France GMT 94 Ipone – 37′36.831

21 – David Salom – Team Pedercini – 37′39.558

22 – Tommy Hill – Honda Althea Racing – 37′39.893

23 – Vittorio Iannuzzo – Squadra Corse Italia – 37′40.123

24 – Luca Scassa – Team Pedercini – 37′40.418

25 – Roland Resch – TKR Suzuki Switzerland – 38′06.873

Not Classified

RT – Yukio Kagayama – Suzuki Alstare BRUX – 34′44.654

RT – Matteo Baiocco – PSG1-1 Corse – 36′28.152

RT – Makoto Tamada – Kawasaki World Superbike R.T. – 18′37.815

RT – Ayrton Badovini – PSG1-1 Corse – 11′41.054

Max Biaggi - Aprilia RSV4 - 2009

As the economic crisis hits the World Superbike series, organisers have decided to cut the Friday morning practice session in their latest efforts to lower costs.

It’s believed that this will save money on fuel, tyres and potential accident damage.  The Superbikes will still go ahead with their Friday morning qualifying practice but the Supersport and Superstock series will only have the free practice on Friday afternoon.

Of course, there will be further cost-cutting measures in the near future so this is only the start.  These new plans will only give the riders and teams a window of 45 minutes to make changes to the bikes and if there has been a crash or problem, it will be an almost impossible job for the teams to make repairs in this time slot.

Noriyuki Haga - Race 1 - Phillip Island 2009

Yesterday saw the opening round of the World Superbike 2009 season get underway at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia with Noriyuki Haga and Ben Spies both taking a win.

Race One

Noriyuki Haga had qualified in thirteenth place but by lap two of the first race of the year he was up into second place for the Ducati Xerox team behind the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rea.

Once Haga had sailed past Rea he had to contend with the German rider Max Neukirchner on the Suzuki.  Haga was passed by Neukirchner and sat on his tail for several laps until a shower began to fall on the final lap, causing the Suzuki rider a huge rear end slide giving Haga the chance he needed to retain his place at the front of the pack.

Neukirchner finished in second place ahead of Yukio Kagayama on the Alstare Suzuki in third and Michel Fabrizio on the second Ducati Xerox in fourth.

Britain’s Jonathan Rea took the fifth slot followed by the Stiggy Honda rider Leon Haslam in sixth, Regis Laconi on the DFX Corse Ducati in seventh and Troy Corser for the new BMW team in eighth place.

Ben Spies on the Yamaha WSB was forced off the track on the first corner and struggled to keep up with the pack finally finishing his first race in sixteenth place.

Here are the results for Race One;

1. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1098R 34mins 22.631s
2. Max Neukirchner GER Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +0.032s
3. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +5.347s
4. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1098R +6.587s
5. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +8.491s
6. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR +8.523s
7. Regis Laconi FRA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R +8.766s
8. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +11.589s
9. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +11.721s
10. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha Italia YZF R1 +11.761s
11. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +12.609s
12. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +19.096s
13. Roberto Rolfo ITA Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR +24.149s
14. Tommy Hill GBR HANNspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR +27.416s
15. Shinya Nakano JPN Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +28.173s
16. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Italia YZF R1 +28.235s
17. Brendan Roberts AUS Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +37.348s
18. Makoto Tamada JPN Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +37.401s
19. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +42.614s
20. Luca Scassa ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1mi 03.794s
21. David Salom ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +2 laps

Race Two

Ben Spies steered clear of the middle of the pack in race two after the incident in the first race and set an impressive pace with the Yamaha from the off.

The race saw Haga at the front of the pack followed by Spies until a few laps from the end of the race when Spies passed the Japanese rider who was struggling with his tyres.

Haga took the second place on the podium, seeing him leading the points after the first round of the WSB Championship.  In third place was the Stiggy Honda rider Haslam, claiming his first podium of the year after beating the two Ducati riders for the position.

Max Biaggi on the Alstare Ducati had been running in third spot for most of the race until the final lap when he slid off the track into the gravel after almost running into the back of Fabrizio.

Here are the results for Race Two;

1. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Italia YZF R1 34mins 20.457s
2. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1098R +1.286s
3. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR +4.213s
4. Regis Laconi FRA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R +4.490s
5. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1098R +6.045s
6. Max Neukirchner GER Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +9.947s
7. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +10.174s
8. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +12.100s
9. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +12.742s
10. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha Italia YZF R1 +20.061s
11. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +24.854s
12. Shinya Nakano JPN Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +25.192s
13. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +27.162s
14. Tommy Hill GBR HANNspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR +29.737s
15. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +30.036s
16. Roberto Rolfo ITA Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR +38.458s
17. Makoto Tamada JPN Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +44.453s
18. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R +45.486s
19. Brendan Roberts AUS Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +46.198s
20. Luca Scassa ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +57.921s
21. Karl Muggeridge AUS Celani Suzuki GSX-R1000 +57.989s
22. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +1min 0.093s
23. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +1min 7.820s
24. Matteo Baiocco ITA PSG-1 Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 21.224s
25. David Salom ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 21.276s

Marco Simoncelli

Rumours are still surrounding the 250cc World Champion Marco Simoncelli, who has showed a continued passion to ride as a Wild-Card in the first two rounds of the World Superbike Championship.

The 21-year-old Italian, was given the chance to ride an Aprilia RSV4 Superbike after winning the 250cc Championship and has been itching to ride in an official race.

However, it seems unlikely to happen with the economic crisis, to run three riders on six machines is practically out of the question.

Simoncelli will continue in the 250cc championship on the Metis Gilera for this season but has already being hunted for MotoGP in 2010.

Ayrton Badovini - Team Pedercini 2008

Team Pedercini are to enter two Kawasaki ZX-10Rs after signing an Italian and a Spanish rider for the 2009 season, Luca Scassa and David Salom.

Scassa made a one off appearance at the Portimao round of the World Superbike Championship in 2008 on-board the DFX Honda, but will now switch to the series full time.

The 25-year-old, has raced the MV Augusta in Superstock and the AMA series and in 2006 won the Italian Supersport Championship.

Scussa said,

“I face this new adventure convinced that I can do well.  The team is good and I can’t wait for the championship to get under way.  We must work hard to get our technical package working well and qualify strongly to get good grid positions.  With everything in place we should make good progress and I hope to fight for top 10 finishes sometimes.”

Salom, 24-years-old, was the Spanish Supersport Champion in 2006 and has been impressive for the past two years in World Supersport.

Salom said,

“This is a very important step for my career because it will let me challenge in a class where only the best riders compete.  I want to take advantage of this opportunity and learn from the best.  I want to thank the team for having come to an agreement to let me race and I will do my best to repay them with good results.”

Brendan Roberts 2008

Brendan Roberts the new Superstock 1000 FIM cup champion for 2008, who rode the Ducati 1098 for the Ducati Xerox Jr team, has made World Superbike news, having been signed up for WSB 2009 by the Italian based Ducati team Guandalini.

The Australian rider had been linked with the North West Ducati, British Superbike team, since winning the Superstock title in the last round at Portimao, the new Portugese track.

At the penultimate round at Magny Cours, disaster struck after Roberts‘ machine developed a gearbox problem, leaving him unable to finish the race and dropping back down to fourth place in the championship table.

The 23-year-old Adelaide rider, had to win the final round of the European superstock championship to win the title and he did just that.  He claimed pole position, the fastest lap of the race, race win and championship win-you can’t do much better than that.

Roberts already has an impressive history after coming second in the Yamaha R6 Virgin Cup in 2005 while competing in Europe.  He went on to win the British Superstock title in 2006 at Croft, with three rounds still to run while simultaneously completing six races in the European category.  In 2007 he suffered a pre-season wrist injury which took months to heal and he was warned that the he was unlikely to ever regain full movement in it.

His 2008 season has seen him return to form as he took the victory at the first round in Valencia for the Ducati Xerox Junior team, despite only having ridden the bike a few times prior to the race.

The Guandalini team, ran a single machine for the World Superbike 2008 season, ridden by Czech rider Jakub Smrz, who rewarded the team with three sixth place World Superbike results, at Donington Park, Assen and Miller Motorsports Park.  He finished the season in thirteenth place overall and was classified as the second best privateer of the year.

Troy Corser

The World Superbike rider Troy Corser, travelled to Cumbria last week to try out first-hand the Stobart Ford and M-Sport teams World Championship Rally car, the Ford Focus RS WRC.

Corser, who has signed for the BMW World Superbike team for the 2009 season alongside Ruben Xaus, completed approximately 28 kilometres alongside the Stobart driver Matthew Wilson.

Corser was impressed by the car’s brakes, handling and launch control and particularly on how late you could brake for corners.

Matthew Wilson was impressed by how quickly Corser took to the car and said,

“It was great to be able to show a two-wheeled World Champion how we do things in our sport.  I was really impressed with his immediate pace despite the fact he had never driven a WRC before let alone on a slippery surface like Greystoke.  Troy got to grips with how to handle the Focus straight away and given some more time, and maybe less trees, I think he would have the ability to really put the foot down.  It was fun taking him for a few laps in the co-driver’s seat too, I think how late the car was braking for corners really impressed him.”

Thanks to Patrick Mayon for this photograph

This weekend the World Superbike Championship takes place at the Miller Motorsports Park circuit near Salt Lake City, after an absence of an American round for four years.

The circuit was opened in 2006 and none of the World Superbike riders have ridden on the track before so riders and fans alike are looking forward to the practice session on Friday.

Troy Bayliss said, “I miss America and so am happy to be going back there. In one way I’m sorry we’re not going back to Laguna, a track I enjoyed and know well but, having said that, I met the owner and designer of the Miller track while at Assen and saw the layout and it looks like a great track too. To be honest that is about all I know of the track at the moment, it looks pretty safe but might also get very dusty, so we’ll have to see when we get there. I have good memories of racing in America, I guess my last visit was when I was in GP and I did OK so yeah, I’m looking forward to going back there again!”

Troy Corser has won three times in the past in America and is hoping for the same this weekend, he said “I am looking forward to going back again, it was always a nice race in America. From all I’ve heard and seen, the track we are going to is well designed and safe. It should be good. I still keep in contact with a lot of people over there, sponsors and friends and so on. More so now because they all know we’re coming back and they want to come and see the race again! I made a lot of friends over there and we have been keeping in contact by email. It’s great to be going back to the states again, for the championship and for me personally.”

Carlos Checa has been racing in America in recent years with the Moto GP series and said “I am looking forward to racing in America again. It’s always a good place to go and I try to get there a couple of days ahead and visit friends and do some climbing or cycling. I have always raced at Leguna Seca, so the Miller track will be a completely new experience for me and I heard it is a very fast track. Then again, it will be new to all the riders in the competition. I think the USA is a good place for the championship and it need to be included in the World Superbike Championship. Any credible World Championship should have at least one event in the United States.”

Max Biaggi said “I’ve just watched it on the internet and seen some pictures. It looks like it’s similar to European-standard tracks which is good. It’s not like the American tracks which are not so safe and not so wide. When we started racing in America the sport was not that popular but in the last few years that we raced there, a lot of people started to come and there were more people involved from the star-system who came close to this sport. Unfortunately where we go is in Utah, which is very far away, it’s not like California. We’ll see, it’s the first time there and it depends a lot on what people expect from this kind of event. With time however, I think people will also go there.”

The rider had been suffering from forearm flexor muscle compartment syndrome for sometime and was operated on April 28th at the Villa Serena clinic in Forlì.

The operation has been a complete success and he has been left with 26 stitches in his arm.

He will now undergo therapy and special treatment to speed up his recovery to allow him to race in the next World Superbike round at Monza on May 11th.