Biaggi talks of his outstanding weekend at Phillip Island
At Phillip Island Max Biaggi was in terrific form, the Italian once again back on the top of the podium in race 1 and then the author of a fantastic recovery from 14th and last place at the end of lap 1 to finish runner-up at the flag, notching up 20 more points in the standings.
Biaggi, now leading the championship on 45 points, came away from Australia fully satisfied with the potential of his Aprilia RSV4 Factory and his new team. In this exclusive interview with WorldSBK.com Biaggi talks of his feelings at this current moment, and urges his fans and supporters not to miss the next round at Imola on April 1st.
What a great weekend! A win in race 1, a fantastic recovery in the second: "The Roman Emperor is back!" must have been the message addressed to your rivals?
"I get goose pimples when I think back at the week in Australia .... On an emotional level it was really great! And it wasn't a bad visiting-card for the first race of the year."
Going into more detail, what exactly happened at the start of race 2? But above all, when did you think it was possible to get back up to the front?
"In race 2 I made contact with my mate Tom (Sykes), coming off worst and finding myself in last place, but I didn't lose heart and focused on getting back up the field. After a never-ending race, to think that I finished in second place is hard to believe..."
We know that it's been a difficult winter for you because of the changes inside your own crew and team. Did you expect to have such a good feeling with your new team members and get such good results right away?
"It was one of the toughest winters of my racing career. My former team decided to leave me and Aprilia and move to MotoGP: this was a bit of a blow because we had to put together a team from scratch in December. I must admit I felt pretty bad about the whole thing, but in the end I can understand that in this sport people make decisions because they have reasons to do so. The best response to all that was out on the track, with a new team and the fresh enthusiasm of the new members, and me and my RSV4 completed the job in Australia. I'm happy to have found a bunch of motivated guys who are ready to fight with me and constantly improve."
For a variety of reasons in Australia you and Checa didn't really go head-to-head, only for a few laps in race 1. Do you think he is going to be your main opponent in the fight for the world title?
"The races were really gripping and I reckon that the Checa-Ducati combination is still the one to beat. They've both got great potential and you could see that in race 2, so ....watch out!"
The Imola round is in less than a month away. Looking back at your title win in 2010 and your outstanding weekend at Phillip Island, what can you promise your fans?
"Imola is an important event. I don't really love the track, but I have great memories there. My fans will now be even more fired up than ever but they can be sure that I'll give my all and even more. It's a tough circuit for me but my slogan for the 2012 season is to ... amaze! We can expect anything to happen..."
