Max Biaggi achieved his first dual victory in the Superbike World Championships after a tense and exciting Race 2 that saw the Roman champ duel it out with his proud and speedy rival, Leon Haslam on his Suzuki. So it was a repeat of the first race won today by Max, in which he also beat out Haslam for the victory.
Max Biaggi for the win
Jumping into the lead from the start, Max Biaggi was pursued by Haslam, but unlike in the first race, they were unable to break away from the rest of the crowd: Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha), Carlos Checa (Ducati) and up until the point when his engine failed, Jonathan Rea (Honda) remained close behind the two leaders, making the race even more uncertain.
A mistake just four laps before the end of the race seemed to have compromised Biaggis run. Biaggi, in the span of a curve, found himself relegated to third place, having been passed by both Haslam and Crutchlow. The Romans will to win was exceptional, and he immediately regained ground over the Brit on his Yamaha and took off after Haslam, who he managed two pass just two laps before the end of the race. Resisting the Suzuki bishops attempt to regain the lead, Biaggi crossed the finish line in first place.
Max Biaggi up to 2nd place overall
Not since 1998 has an Italian driver (Pierfrancesco Chili at Kyalami) won a dual victory on an Italian motorcycle. With this double win, Max Biaggi moves up to second place in the world classification with 69 points, behind his rival Haslam (85 points).
Aprilia Alitalia Racing Teams triumphant day was completed by two fifth place finishes from the English driver, Leon Camier, who seemed to be improving continuously, and is by now quite comfortable on his Aprilia RSV4 and able to race for extended periods with the leaders.
Its a pleasure to be back on top after the problems we had in Australia, said Biaggi. Weve improved with respect to last year. The pace was a bit slower in Race 2 and we were all quite close. It was really a great battle with a lot of passes and a few mistakes. Im really very happy for this dual victory because it is truly a great outcome, both for me and my team, as well as Aprilia, which is really doing a great job.
I am very happy, said Camier. We did well in both races and set excellent paces. Unfortunately, I wasnt able to find my rhythm during the initial laps and this penalized me quite a bit. Now I also need to make improvements in this area. The familiarity with my RSV4 is improving with this new suspension and weve got a lot of work to do to keep moving forward.
