Superbike Report
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.
Over his shoulder Leon Camier battled first with Corser (BMW) and then with Crutchlow (Yamaha) to claw his way into second place, his second podium and best yet placing in World SBK.
With this victory Biaggi passed Haslam (victim of a fall while battling somewhere around sixth place) at the top of the world standings. Max now has 257 points against the Suzuki rider’s 242. And it doesn’t stop there: the double win takes Aprilia to the top of manufacturer standings: 263 points for Aprilia against Suzuki’s 252.
Max Biaggi (After WSBK Race 1) says "We had a bit of luck, it’s true, but I can’t help but be happy about our results. Happy for me, for the guys on the Team and for Aprilia which, with a new bike, is allowing me to do truly well. Even the crowd deserves it. There are a lot of bike fans and a lot of my fans here in America. We have a good pace – we knew that from practice – and we maintained it in the race. At a certain point Checa was riding faster and for this reason we’ll need to work out some modifications for race2 in order to improve even more and be competitive down to the last lap. 5 points recovered in the championship are important. Now we need to stay focused and bring the best possible home, always".
Max Biaggi (After WSBK Race 2) says: "Two fantastic races. Nothing more would need to be said. We set up the weekend well, working a lot to take best advantage of the potential of the RSV4 on this beautiful circuit. Again in race 2 Checa immediately set a frantic pace, but I had more of a feeling than in race 1, so I think that I would have played it out down to the end anyway. I managed the advantage well."
Max continued: "I must be thankful because this double win is to the credit of the entire Team and the guys who work at Noale, who give me the best possible support. I think the American fans had a good time as well. Today is an important day for us, but my mind is already on the next round. To make it to the lead spot in the standings is extremely important, but there is still a long season ahead of us, so… we’ll keep our feet on the ground".
Leon Camier says: "It couldn’t have gone any better than this. I rode a second race which was pushed to the maximum. The modifications to my RSV4 worked. Max had a better pace, so my goal is to keep working and growing so that I can stay up front. A double victory is always something magic, particularly this one which is the first for Aprilia. I hope I can give more of this kind of excitement to both the fans and the entire Team".
Gigi Dall’Igna (Director of Aprilia Racing) says: "The first double victory in the new Aprilia SBK adventure takes on even more significance because it comes just a year and a half after the début of our RSV4. I cannot help but thank all of the people involved in this project. Taking two bikes ahead of everybody, ahead of very strong adversaries and manufacturers with so much experience in this championship makes us very hopeful for the rest of the season even though the World championship is still long and difficult".
World SBK – Race 1
1, M. Biaggi (Aprilia) – 38’20.442
2, L. Haslam (Suzuki) – 38’25.373
3, N. Haga (Ducati) – 38’26.874
4, L. Camier (Aprilia) – 38’29.018
5, T. Corser (BMW) – 38’31.592
World SBK – Race 2
1st – M. Biaggi (Aprilia) – 38’17.842
2nd – L. Camier (Aprilia) – 38’23.741
3rd – C. Crutchlow (Yamaha) – 38’25.205
4th – N. Haga (Ducati) – 38’26.684
5th – Corser (BMW) – 38’27.315
