WSBK Vallelunga: Nitro Nori Nicks Double

Noriyuki Haga took a stunning double victory as the World Superbike championship visited Vallelunga, Italy. A late crash in the second race for pole position holder Troy Bayliss means that he has not secured the title just yet, while two riders escaped unhurt from a horrific crash at the start of race two.

Race 1
The Xerox Ducati of Troy Bayliss leapt off the pole position slot like a scalded cat, swerving in front of the chasing pack as he headed for the first corner. Max Biaggi made his usual great start to slot his Sterilgarda Ducati into second place. With Rome just 30km away, the little Roman Emperor was fired up by an extremely partisan crowd of Biaggi fans. Next in line were the two Santander Yamaha Italia bikes of Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser. Haga quickly sneaked past Biaggi when the Roman entered the slow hairpin on a wide line, then kept up the momentum as he used the superior speed of the Yamaha to pass Bayliss for the lead.

It would prove to be a difficult race for Bayliss, as he could not keep up the same pace as the leader Haga. He lost out to Biaggi, Corser and Kiyonari in fairly quick succession, dropping to 5th place. However, he regained a spot when Ryuichi Kiyonari incredibly dropped the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda at the hairpin in a carbon copy of James Toseland's crash when he raced for that team last year. The bike skittered across the tarmac at no more than 30mph, but something was broken and Kiyo trundled back to the pits to retire. Bayliss, however soon lost the place to Kiyonari's team-mate Carlos Checa, who was having an excellent race from the third row.

At the front, Haga was still flawless, but Biaggi and Corser beat each other up for 2nd position. Biaggi managed to latch onto Haga's rear tyre, while Corser dropped back and started fighting with Checa for the final podium spot. However, the pace of the two leaders faded, and with a couple of fast laps, Corser was back in the mix. Despite some big slides, Haga was untouchable, and stretched away on the last lap to take the victory. Biaggi finished second and Corser third. Max Neukirchner brazenly shot past both Bayliss and Checa in one fell swoop to grab 4th, while Checa held off the Aussie for 5th.

Race 2
The second race started with one of the most terrifying crashes that World Superbike has seen in years. Seconds after launching from the start line, Max Biaggi and Troy Corser touched in the left-hand kink in the straight, setting the Italian's Ducati lurching from side to side as other riders streamed past at around 130mph. Finally, Max was thrown from the bike, which was immediately hit by the hapless Kenan Sofuoglu on his Ten Kate Honda. Biaggi was spun round like a top before tumbling through the gravel at high speed, his Ducati being totally destroyed as it cartwheeled end over end. When Sofuoglu's machine hit Biaggi's bike, it disappeared from underneath him. The Turkish star flew through the air, gracefully flipping over and landing on his back before tumbling through the gravel like a rag doll. His Honda was reduced to an expensive ball of smoking wreckage. Amazingly, both riders escaped with just bruising from this monstrous crash.

Because Sofuoglu and Biaggi had travelled straight on while the track kinked left, they were clear of the tarmac and the race carried on. Troy Bayliss had taken the lead again, while this time he was followed by Haga and Corser. It would be Bayliss and Haga who battled for the lead, while Corser kept a close watch from 3rd place, trying to sneak alongside the others from time to time. The fight for the lead was thrilling, with the Yamaha fastest in a straight line but the Ducati breathtakingly quick in the fast corners. At one point, Haga and Bayliss were physically touching in the same fast left-hand kink that had claimed Biaggi, but travelling much faster than Max had been as they had accelerated all the way from the last corner.

Bayliss used his speed in the fast corners to pass Haga, but the Yamaha could swoop past on the straights and stay in front into slow corners thanks to Haga's insanely late braking. Haga ran wide into the last corner, letting Bayliss drag alongside him over the start line, and again the pair touched in the left-hand kink at the end of the straight. It was an awe-inspiring demonstration of World Superbike racing at its very best, with two legends shoulder to shoulder at high speed, having total confidence in each other.

Bayliss knew that he could only seal the world title if he extended his championship lead to at least 100 points by the end of the day. With Corser in 3rd place, 2nd would not be enough for Bayliss and he decided to go all out for the victory. However, on the last lap, his young team-mate Michel Fabrizio, also a local boy, had done Bayliss a favour by pushing Corser back to 4th. Unfortunately, Bayliss had no way of knowing that 2nd place would now be enough to win the championship. Like a few people over the weekend, Bayliss "did a Toseland" at the hairpin, sliding along the tarmac in a shower of sparks at embarrassingly low speed. He kept the throttle pinned to stop the big 1200cc V-twin engine from stalling, but by the time he had picked the bike up, found a gear and restarted, he was in 16th place.

Haga was now clear in the lead as he crossed the line for his second victory of the day, celebrating a brilliant double by taking his pair of young sons onto the podium. The little Japanese hooligans had the sense to run off when the champagne was sprayed, but return in time to be in the podium photographs. Fabrizio kept up his yo-yoing form to take 2nd place, while Troy Corser took another podium. Neukirchner and Checa came home 4th and 5th again, with the Spaniard having lost precious seconds at the race start as he backed off, having been convinced that the huge crash in front of him would result in a red flag.

Troy Bayliss could have won the title at Vallelunga, but unfortunately the rostrum or straw bales tactic failed him on this occasion. He still has a huge lead in the championship race, and should sew up the title next time out.

WSBK: Silly Search for Bayliss Replacement

World Superbikes usually has a good silly season, but the search for the new Troy Bayliss just keeps getting sillier and sillier. The Aussie star leads the championship on his Xerox Ducati 1098F08, but has finally decided that he will retire at the end of the year.

The trouble with replacing Bayliss is that he's one of the best riders in the history of Superbike. Choosing between him and Ducati's other WSBK legend Carl Fogarty is largely a matter of whether you prefer laid-back Australians loved by all, or arrogant Englishmen who get up everyone's hooter. As riders, Bayliss and Foggy are World Superbike gods, with records that others can only dream of.

So it's not just a case of replacing a quick rider, it's a case of replacing a superhero. You can't replace a superhero with some guy who will probably win the odd race, you need to find somebody who will win championships. The team's number 2 rider is expected to be a young Italian who is quick but erratic. Michel Fabrizio currently fills that position and is almost certain to stay next year.

Let's look at the riders who have been linked with the number 1 Ducati ride for next year:

Shane "Shakey" Byrne
Currently winning the British Superbike series at a canter on a Ducati 1098, Shakey is experienced, with some MotoGP races under his belt on the atrocious Aprilia and Roberts-KTM machines. In the last couple of years in BSB on 4-cylinder Japanese bikes, he spent half his time crawling off the track with concussion (though the time that the front brake calliper fell off his Rizla Suzuki and he had to jump off the bike at 170mph wasn't his fault!) He just seems to click with Ducatis, having won the BSB title and a couple of races as a WSBK wildcard back in the day. He is head and shoulders above anyone else in BSB this year and looks like he was born to ride the 1098. On the downside, he doesn't know the WSBK tracks. In with a decent chance, and would be my choice to replace Bayliss.

Max Biaggi
This season, The Roman Emperor is riding a Ducati in WSBK for the 2nd-string Sterilgarda team, and he's not exactly setting the heather alight either. Ludicrously parted with Suzuki over wage issues despite almost winning the title last year. On the plus side, he's extremely quick when he feels like it and is a 4-time 250cc World Champion. On the downside, he keeps falling out with teams. And Ducati only ever win the WSBK title with British and Australian riders (Foggy, Bayliss, Hodgson, Toseland, Bayliss again) so an Italian won't be much use. Still, in with a good chance because it's an Italian team and he's Max Biaggi.

Chris Vermeulen
Having a hit and miss season with Suzuki in MotoGP, but seems to have staked his claim for another year at Suzuki (though there are rumours that he will have to take a pay cut). World Superbike, even the prestigious factory Ducati ride, would be a step down for Vermeulen, so he will almost certainly try to stay in MotoGP. As a former Ten Kate rider in WSBK and WSS, he knows most of the tracks. Would be an excellent choice if his MotoGP dreams all fall through, but it looks pretty unlikely.

Michel Fabrizio
There is a possibility that Fabrizio might be promoted to team leader alongside up and coming Italian Niccolo Canepa. So then there would be two erratic young Italians failing to win the WSBK title for Xerox Ducati. It is also said that Ducati want to get Canepa on the career-killing Alice Ducati MotoGP bike to groom him for the future. Fabrizio as number one Ducati in WSBK is unlikely, but with team politics being what they are, who knows?

Ben Spies
Getting pretty silly now. The Texan is the latest big name rider to be linked with Ducati, however his pay demands are truly ludicrous. He earns more than half the MotoGP paddock, and possibly more than anyone in WSBK. This is because he has won the truly worthless AMA Superbike title, where the wages are obscene and the racing is utterly non-existent. He doesn't want to take a pay cut just to race in some foreign race series, even though AMA Superbike is currently in the process of disappearing up its own crevice and re-emerging as 600cc SuperStock with bells on, which may kill off all the factory teams. Spies would be a fascinating choice for the ex-Bayliss ride, but there isn't a hope in hell of it happening unless he re-thinks his love of filthy lucre. Maybe he will show up in WSBK at some point, when AMA SBK is in tatters and all of the garage doors in MotoGP are firmly shut...

Biaggi Watch: Part 367

Well, Max Biaggi's one man silly season continues apace, with "Soup" reporting that Biaggi has signed for Sterilgarda Ducati to ride a factory-spec Ducati 1098R alongside Ruben Chaos in the World Superbike Championship. Oops, I mean Ruben Xaus.

If this is true, then we will be treated to another year of The Roman Emperor in WSBK. The prospect of having him on a 1200cc Ducati is fascinating. Max is a 4-times World Champion on 250cc Grand Prix bikes, and has also won races on 500GP, 990cc MotoGP and 1000cc 4-cylinder WSBK machines. Let's see how many victories he can grab on a 1200cc V-twin, now that he knows all the tracks visited by World Supers and has climbed onto the podium at most of them.

Max Biaggi: One Man Silly Season

Right. All those rumours about Max Biaggi moving to GSE Ducati in World Supers, and about GSE moving to WSBK at all, are now said to be false.
First, Superbike Planet poured cold water on the rumours, then Dennis Noyes at SpeedTV.com said there had been a last minute hitch and it was all off. To top that off, Leon Camier, who had been rumoured as Biaggi's new team-mate, told BikeSportNews that his supposed new ride was news to him.

According to Noyes, the sticking point in the deal was that Darrell Healey, owner of GSE, has just remembered that he is Troy Bayliss's personal manager so can't move his team to WSBK after all. So he'd rather flush his team down the pan than cancel his deal with Troy. Uh-huh. Anyway, rumour has it that GSE will still find a way to compete in BSB next year. Allegedly!

Max Biaggi truly is a walking Silly Season. Remember how it was rumoured that Max wouldn't be coming to World Supers after all, because he had bagged a MotoGP ride with Kawasaki? Ironically, the person who started those rumours was Colin Wright, team manager of GSE!!!

Where will it stop? Nobody knows. Now the rumours are that Max will ride for Sterilgada Ducati alongside Ruben "Captain Chaos" Xaus. Now that would be fun.

WSBK: Biaggi to GSE Ducati?

Top World Superbikes scribe Dennis Noyes is reporting on SpeedTV.com that Max Biaggi will ride for GSE Ducati in WSBK next year.
There had long been rumours that Max might stay in World Supers if he could find a team with enough sponsorship to run him on a full factory Ducati 1098, but it had looked unlikely. Now there has been an alignment of the planets worthy of the Twilight Zone. The GSE team has dropped out of British Superbikes as the rulemakers are refusing to give Ducati special dispensation to use aftermarket pistons without a report from an independent engineer saying that it would be necessary as a safety measure. It looked like GSE would be closing down, as their sponsor, Airwaves chewing gum, wasn't interested in the European market. However, it now seems that GSE have managed to find a sponsor with deep enough pockets to run Biaggi on a factory Ducati. It is thought that FG Sport, who run the championship, have pushed hard behind the scenes for this deal.
GSE have a long relationship with Ducati, and had been pencilled in for running a pair of full factory machines in either BSB or WSBK depending on where they ended up. It was GSE who ran Neil Hodgson and James Toseland on Ducatis, giving them the big breaks that turned them into champions. This would certainly make them likely race-winners, and possibly even championship winners, though Troy Bayliss might have something to say about that.
Biaggi's team-mate is rumoured to be Leon Camier, the giraffe-like Englishman who exploded onto the BSB scene this year on a Honda but sustained serious leg and pelvis injuries in a monstrous crash at the dangerous Cadwell Park circuit. (I really wish I hadn't seen the slow-motion replay of that one.) Fortunately, Camier is making an excellent recovery.
If these rumours are true, then it is great news all round. Max Biaggi is clearly an asset to WSBK, the GSE team won't have to disband after all, and Camier will get his big break, as it were!

Say It Ain't So, Max!

Max Biaggi has announced that he has parted company with Alstare Suzuki in the World Superbike Championship. This seems to be for two reasons, firstly Max was demanding an enormous amount of money, and secondly Alstare have lost their Corona sponsorship after the Mexican brewery's parent company decided to stop all motorsport activities.

It looks awfully like Max will be leaving WSBK. There are only 4 teams worth riding for in the championship just now: Ducati, Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki. All of these marques put in excellent performances during the 2007 season. However, Xerox Ducati, Ten Kate Honda and Santander Yamaha are all fully stocked up with very, very quick riders (and Fabrizio). Turning his back on Suzuki means that Max has no race-winning options left open, apart from the long shot of a private team running full factory Ducati 1098's, and if Francis Batta couldn't find enough sponsorship to re-hire Max then I don't know who else could.

There has been talk of Max sneaking into a Gresini Honda ride in MotoGP, and the Italian squad have confirmed that they have held initial meetings with the Roman Emperor. The main problem with this is that Max had a bit of a falling out with Honda when he left the Repsol HRC team at the end of 2005 after decrying the Honda RC211V as a blanking piece of blank, or words to that effect. Max had enormous sacks of sponsorship dollars available from Camel, but Honda bosses were furious, and refused point-blank to supply machines to any team that said hello to Max, never mind hiring him. This resulted in Max sitting out 2006 and racing superbikes in 2007.

Of course, the pitiful, abysmal, embarrassing performance of the new 800cc Honda RC212V resulted in the head honchos of HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) being basically fired (i.e. shuffled to other parts of the colossal Honda empire.) This means that the new bosses might not share their predecessors' venomous hatred for Biaggi. So there is a teeny but real chance that Biaggi could return to MotoGP, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

The Joker in the pack is AMA Superbike. Although the AMA are notorious for having their own special way of making up rules and regulations to make sure that no damned foreigners win anything, the racing is poor and the tracks are mostly very dangerous, the top AMA Superbike riders are paid ludicrous amounts of money. (Seriously, it's said that if Ben Spies moves to MotoGP in 2009 he'll have to take a pay cut.) Max is a great lover of the United States, and has owned a house there for some time. If the planets align correctly, Biaggi might just end up racing superbikes in the USA. He has shown himself to be very quick on superbikes, and he is a megastar of the sport. Somebody might produce the cash to hire him. Max must have a decent relationship with Suzuki after his year in WSBK, and Suzuki are currently the best manufacturer under the AMA's convoluted Superbike rules.

Nothing has been announced about Max Biaggi's future in 2008. If nobody can find the money to satisfy his demands, The Roman Emperor will almost certainly retire. Here's hoping that somebody comes up with the cash to keep this star around for another year.

WSBK Vallelunga: Max and Troy B. Masterclass

The World Superbike Championship's first visit to Vallelunga produced some of the best racing of the year, thanks to the track layout. With Valellunga being just north of Rome, the place was bedecked with Biaggi banners and stuffed with the Roman Emperor's fans.

In Superpole, championship leader James Toseland was half way round a blisteringly quick lap when he hit a bump, his Ten Kate Honda started chattering and spat him off before swerving head first into a wall and trashing itself. Toseland would start 8th, while Troy Bayliss took pole on his Xerox Ducati ahead of Corser's Santander Yamaha, Xaus on his Sterilgada Ducati and Biaggi on the Corona Suzuki.


Race One would see one of the most incredible, and hair-raising, first laps that WSBK has ever produced. Turn one is a terrifyingly fast sweeping right-hander, and several riders touched at high speed. With the bikes geared for 100mph in 1st gear, starting would be tricky, but Toseland flew off the line and rose to 2nd place, nearly high-siding in turn 2. The twisting, physical Vallelunga track gives plenty of opportunity for overtaking, and the riders weren't about to turn down a half-chance.

Half way round the first lap there was a jaw-dropping moment when the riders chasing the leader Troy Bayliss went 4 abreast into a corner. Incredibly, they all made it round in one piece, with Troy Corser leading the group. However, Corser had turned off his traction control to make a good start and in all the excitement he forgot to turn it back on. Grabbing plenty of throttle in a left-hand corner he highsided right in front of the following pack. Toseland swerved one way, Haga the other. With Corser lying on the track in front of him, Roby Rolfo grabbed the brakes, surprising Max Neukirchner, who clipped him and tumbled into a gravel trap.

In the final corner of the first lap, there was even more action as James Toseland brutally slammed into the side of Nori Haga, the Japanese rider running well wide but staying on the bike. The mayhem continued into lap 2 has Ruben Xaus lost the front in a quick right-hander and slid into a gravel trap (and not for the first time this year!)

Bayliss had been very fast in the early laps, but by lap 3 he was holding up the charging Max Biaggi. The pair passed and re-passed each other before Biaggi finally took the lead with a clean move. The Roman was on lightning form as he got his head down and started lapping several tenths faster than anyone else. From then on it would be a lonely race for Max, who extended his lead nearly every time around.

Bayliss and Haga were battling for 2nd and 3rd places. Both were performing to their usual standards as they beat each other up in entertaining style. Behind them, James Toseland had dropped back, his traction control not performing as it should (his own fault for chucking the bike at a tyre wall in Superpole, really). However, Bayliss and Haga were holding each other up and Toseland caught them. A near-highside by Haga let Bayliss escape while Toseland and Haga renewed their lap one rivalry with even more close racing. Toseland came out on top after another forceful move that ended up with him almost leaning on the Yamaha's screen with his elbow.

Biaggi pulled out a lead of over 7 seconds, which dropped to 5 as he wheelied out of the last few corners and wheelied over the finish line, ecstatic at winning his home race. Bayliss took 2nd, while Toseland finished a hard-fought 3rd.

Race Two started with more breathtaking moments in the hell for leather dash to turn one. Ruben Xaus and Troy Corser were side by side and came together twice, the flailing knees and elbows of the lanky Catalan keeping them upright. This dropped them into the pack, where most people had made a decent start.

Again, Troy Bayliss was in the lead as the field reached turns two and three, where they disappeared into clouds of cement dust that were soaking up oil laid down in the World Supersports race. (The WSS race had been red-flagged after several riders fell on the slippery line.) Haga, Toseland and Corser were following, with Biaggi reaching fifth after being shuffled down the pack in the cement dust cloud.

Bayliss and Haga fought over the lead, while behind them the fast-charging Biaggi picked off Corser and Toseland then set off in pursuit of the leaders. Corser was pushing Toseland hard, and the Englishman was struggling to hold off the Aussie as his traction control was misbehaving again. Finally, the pressure was too much for the championship leader. He was even slower than usual in the tight left-hand hairpin, and seemed to lean the bike over too far. He lowsided in a shower of sparks, and Corser took 4th. Toseland picked up the bike, yanking on the damaged left handlebar then climbing back on and setting off. He was forced to stand up on the footpegs and pull up on the left bar with all his might to get it back into shape.

Biaggi closed up on the leading pair, and managed to dispatch Haga. He was close behind Bayliss when he ran a little too hot into a corner and had to pick the bike up to avoid hitting the Aussie's Ducati. This lost him well over a second. With Bayliss and Biaggi lapping at similar times, the Roman Emperor couldn't close the gap and had to settle for 2nd place behind Bayliss, with Haga finishing 3rd and Corser 4th. Toseland somehow managed to lap as fast as the leaders as he hauled himself up to 11th.

Toseland now leads the championship by 29 points from Max Biaggi and and 33 points from Haga as they head to the last round in France. The Ten Kate rider absolutely must stay on the bike in the two final races, because a pair of DNF's for Toseland would mean Biaggi or Haga could take the title with a pair of podiums.

It was a fantastic day of racing at Vallelunga, with Toseland starting to show a few cracks and Max Biaggi going from strength to strength in his first year of Superbike racing. Magny Cours should be fascinating next time out.

WSBK: Toseland and Max Share Spoils at Brno

Qualifying for the World Superbike meeting at Brno in the Czech Republic saw Max Biaggi break the lap record, only for Nori Haga to destroy even Biaggi's time with the first ever sub-2 minute lap of Brno on a superbike.
This track is very much Biaggi territory, as he came to the meeting with 7 wins under his belt in 250GP, 500GP and MotoGP, by far the best record of any WSBK runner. If he wanted to add to this tally, he would have to do battle with polesitter Nori Haga, 2006 racewinner Yukio Kagayama and championship leader James Toseland.

Race One saw Biaggi make his usual excellent start on his Corona Suzuki, but he managed to keep up the pace through the opening laps rather than dropping back as he has tended to do this season. A group of four quickly formed at the front, with Toseland's Ten Kate Honda starting to break away at the front, followed by a dogfight between Yamaha rider Haga and Biaggi, with his Suzuki team-mate Kagayama managing to cling on in 4th.
There is no love lost between Nori Haga and Max Biaggi. Last time out at Misano, Max made an optimistic move on Nori that left them both in the gravel trap. The Roman Emperor then enraged his Japanese opponent by refusing to apologize, claiming that he was only 65% responsible for the crash (about 35% less than most observers would say). To a Japanese racer like Nori, crashes are disappointing but the refusal to offer even an unconvincing apology causes grave personal offence. If Haga was Texan, he would surely challenge Max to a duel.
At first, Toseland stretched out a convincing lead, but Max got the better of Haga and set off in pursuit. Biaggi managed to take the lead, and Toseland seemed to be in trouble as he dropped to 4th, then proved he was in no trouble at all as he fought right back to the front when Max ran wide.
Kagayama wasn't giving up on his hopes yet, and made a banzai manoeuvre to slam his bike in front of a clearly unimpressed Haga, who tried to fight back but was suffering tyre problems and dropping off the pace.
On the last lap, Kagayama was in a safe 3rd while Biaggi and Toseland were battling for the win. The Englishman was trying very hard and looking a little ragged, and when he ran off the edge of the track he kicked up a shower of dust and gravel into the Roman's bike. Max visibly flinched as a stone shattered his screen and slammed into his left hand. It was nothing too serious (after the race, Max showed us a bleeding finger), but it might just have distracted him enough to stop a last-ditch pass, and he followed Toseland across the line.
It was a valuable win for Toseland, who increased his championship lead. His rival Troy Bayliss had an awful race, with the Ducati unsuited to this track. He was well down the field when he was hit by Karl Muggeridge's bike. "Muggas" had fallen off was already sliding several yards behind his machine by the time it hit the Ducati. Bayliss didn't seem at all bothered, and later revealed that he had thanked Karl for ending such a miserable race!
Max took his 11th Brno podium with an excellent performance, while his team-mate Kagayama was back on form after spending most of the year falling off and hurting himself.

Race Two started in bizarre fashion as light rain caused the race to be delayed and declared a wet race, only for the clouds to pass and the conditions to remain perfectly dry.
Lorenzo Lanzi made a great start and briefly led before the Ducati inevitably dropped back after a few corners. The two Yamahas of Haga and Corser were leading from Toseland when Corser suffered yet another mechanical failure and dropped out. Biaggi in 3rd place was staying in touch.
Haga looked like he might be able to stay in front this time, but his arch-enemy Max Biaggi was ominously moving forward, first past Toseland then past the Japanese rider into the lead, where he was relatively safe from flying rocks (unless there were any Valentino Rossi fans in the crowd...)
Haga then lost out to the battling Toseland, and then lost his podium place to Michel Fabrizio's DFX Honda. Fabrizio is one of the more infuriating riders in World Superbike, who is highly rated by many, seemingly for his ability to race well at Brno despite being embarrassingly rubbish everywhere else. He kept up this record to grab 3rd.
Up front, Biaggi crossed the line to take his 8th Brno win in all classes, and his second World Superbike victory of the season.
Toseland had to settle for 2nd place, giving him a championship lead of 43 points ahead of Biaggi, who sits just 2 points in front of his pal Haga.
Next time out, Brands Hatch.

WSBK: Biaggi Joint Championship Leader After Qatar

Everybody knew that Max Biaggi was an extremely fast motorcycle racer, but nobody was quite sure what would happen when he arrived in the World Superbike Championship.
Some thought he would be quick enough, but might struggle in the hard-racing, rough and tumble world of WSBK. I thought he would have no problem with the hard racing, but would take time to adapt to the different rules, and Superpole qualifying in particular.
Well, you would have to be a huge Biaggi fan to have predicted the events that actually happened.
In his first ever Superpole session, Max had taken 2nd on the grid, beaten only by Superpole specialist Troy Corser.
In his first ever World Superbike race, Max made a great start, fought tooth and nail with the WSBK veterans around him, and won the race by more than a second from the former champ and notoriously hard racer, James Toseland.
Would Max be able to put in the same kind of performance in race two, despite never having competed in a double-header event before?
Yup. Another great start, and more hard racing from the Roman Emperor. This time he was forced to settle for 2nd place behind a flawless ride from Toseland, but not before a raging battle with the two Yamaha Italia bikes of Corser and Haga. At one point Biaggi audaciously passed both Yamahas at the same time on the way into turn 1.
Max looked like he had been riding in WSBK for years, and in a post race interview, said he wished he had discovered this championship years ago. He has answered all of the big questions. Yes, he can step up from 145kg MotoGP bikes to 165kg WSBK machinery, race with the old hands, qualify well, start well and most importantly of all, stand on top of the podium.
Whether he can make an assault on the championship will depend on whether he can maintain this form on tracks where he has never raced. The next event is at Phillip Island, where Biaggi has gone well many times. He will go there jointly leading the championship with Toseland.
One thing that has surprised many people is the fact that Max has been in WSBK for an entire race weekend without starting a feud with anybody. Maybe the more relaxed atmosphere in 'Supers will suit him better than the pressure cooker of the Grand Prix circus. Or maybe the words will start flying near the end of the season when the title is up for grabs.
After just one race weekend, Max has achieved what everybody had hoped: sending a shockwave through WSBK. There is a new star in town.