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Max Biaggi scored two fantastic results over the weekend at Phillip Island, on a track that historically is not thought to be favourable to himself and his Aprilia Racing machine in Superbike.

At the start of race 1 Max started well from the second spot on the grid, and straight away was on the exhausts of Checa and Sykes. Aided by the good pace he showed during the test sessions, Max overtook the Kawasaki rider during the third lap, then clocked a new lap record for the circuit 1'31.785, beating Corser's five-year-old mark. A crash by Checa, at that point with Max bearing down hard on him, paved the way to victory, won with more than 7 seconds advantage over the closest rival.

Race 2 was even more exciting and will be long remembered by the fans. Rocketing out well when the red lights went off, Max was involved in contact with Sykes on the first turn, a collision which moved the brake lever and prevented proper braking. Re-entering the track in last place, with an eight second disadvantage, the five time world champion laid down 22 breathtaking laps filled with duels, overtaking moves, fast laps and cool concentration, coming back to second place and earning the provisional leadership in the 2012 World Championship.

The emotion came through clearly in Max's words: 'After such a difficult winter this is extremely satisfying for me. I worked without sparing myself and during the testing here at Phillip Island we truly tried a lot of things and the results prove us right. The first weekend with my new Team puts us out front and I have to thank both my guys and Aprilia for that. Race 1 was great, and the second one maybe even better. After running off the track I only thought about focusing and giving my all, because coming back from last place is always risky. We succeeded. We're taking home two good results and now there is nothing left to do but keep the tension high to confirm our strength at Imola. I am leaving for Montecarlo so Monday I'll be home and I'll begin to prepare for the next round'.