Max Biaggi 's bet in WSBK

We can call it a bet, the bet of someone who wants to show to himself, his competitors and to the whole world that he is still able to go fast and win. His last victory goes back to 2004 in Germany in frontof Barros when he was still racing with the yellow Honda Camel of the Pramac Pons Team. In 2005 with the official factory Honda Repsol Team led by the legendary technical director Erv Kanemoto, Biaggi
thought that he could be one of the contenders to the World Championship but lack of results brought Biaggi and Honda to a bitter divorce that, indeed, marked the end of his career in MotoGp and the beginning of another one in WSBK. Yes, Biaggi was supposed to start racing with the Corona team last year, but the limited amount of time to create another two bikes for the Roman rider and Troy Corser’s dissent to share the team with another prima donna, it convinced Batta, Suzuki Corona Team Manager, to wait another year to bring Biaggi in Superbike.


The last 12 months have been extremely busy for Max Biaggi: training with the bicycle, in the gym, on the soccer fields, with the supermotard bike and with his new tool, the Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K6 and then K7. He has always been almost maniacal in getting mentally and phisically ready to the racing season, but at his age of 35 and after such a long career the effort and the passion infused in the last 12 month of training measures the size of his bet: new championship, new competitors, new team, new technicians, new bike, new brakes, new tires ….a lot of variables in an equation that can be solved only with winning in WSBK. Indeed the expectations are so high among fans, media and sponsors, that any results that should fall short of the victory would raise tons of criticism. Last Monday Biaggi finished the tests in the Losail circuit at 3/10 of a sec behind the new Yamaha rider Troy Corser, riding as much as 80 laps to include a race simulation with the 2006 Pirelli.
I believe that this one was his last test before the first race of the season on February 24th, when he will have to compete again with the fastest riders in the world.

Do not forget to periodically check Jim’s blog, Armchairbikefan, for overseas insides on the WSBK.

In the first video (source) Kagayama and Biaggi training in Phillip Island
In the second one (source) he is in California where he often goes during the winter to train with other supermotards riders