Biaggi settles for the points as Imola beckons

From a championship point of view, the German round came down to the two riders, and by now the only riders - even according to the maths - competing for the title: in the first race Biaggi rode his Aprilia RSV4 to fourth place leaving Haslam behind (sixth) and thus earning three points. In race 2 Haslam (third) made up five points on Max.

In race 1, which Rea (Honda) won, Max had some trouble at the start and then mounted a fantastic comeback which brought him to fourth place. In race 2 Max stayed among the front riders the entire way and, in spite of his fifth place finish, just barely missed a spot on the podium.

"A shame - confessed Max Biaggi at the end of race 2 - We battled all weekend with grip and chattering problems. I know that I can be decisively faster. In fact, in Superpole with the soft tyre we were making excellent times. But the important thing is to know how to deal with the difficulties. We took home some important points from a championship point of view and now there are just two more rounds and we're out front. The finish line is close, but we cannot make the mistake of underestimating our rivals who, even today, showed their determination to exploit every false move we make".