ANOTHER PODIUM FOR APRILIA ALITALIA: MAX BIAGGI IS IN THIRD PLACE IN RACE 2 AND PICKS UP PRECIOUS POINTS FOR THE WORLD CLASSIFICATIONS.
GREAT AND UNFORTUNATE ATTEMPT BY LEON CAMIER.
Valencia, 11 April 2010 - Another podium for Max Biaggi in race 2 of the World Superbike Valencia round. After the second place in race 1, Max engaged in another splendid battle with Haga (Ducati) and Checa (Ducati). A struggle carried out on the thin wire of hundredths, considering the fact that the order of the final arrivals springs from the "combined" classification which summed the times of the two fractions in which race 2 was split, due to an accident in the third lap which forced a new start.
At the second start it was Leon Camier with his Aprilia Alitalia RSV4 who took charge followed by team mate Max. The Brit's fantastic attempt ended in the 12th lap in a slide without consequences. But with those laps out front Leon showed great progress in riding the 4 cylinder Aprilia.
From that point on Haga, Biaggi and Checa took off in a race of their own. Max surpassed Checa several times, even approaching Haga in the sum of the times. He crossed the finish line in second place, but the classification which combined the times of the two fragments of the race "relegated" him to third place. A very important placing because it was obtained in front of Leon Haslam, in lead in the world classifications (123 points) now 18 points in front of Max, in a solid second place with 105 points.
Max Biaggi stated: "It was a beautiful race, entertaining as race 1 was also, there was a bit of confusion at the restart due to the filler left on the asphalt to clean up after the accident. I gave my best and we lost second place by next to nothing, maybe because of a wobble in the very last lap. I tried to resist against the Ducati but toward the end of the race with the tyres worn, the two cylinders had an evident advantage, especially Haga's. This is a positive result in the championship scenario. We'll see what happens in Holland: one thing is certain, as always we will give it our all".
"I still have a lot to figure out - said Leon Camier - I especially need to improve the feeling with my RSV4, above all I need to understand were and how to intervene to stay consistently out front with the leaders. There are a lot of little things that need to be adjusted and they are decisive in order to be quick. I believe that this weekend we took some important steps in this direction.
A good result is not far off".
MAX BIAGGI TAKES SECOND PLACE IN RACE 1 AT VALENCIA AFTER A WINNING DUEL WITH TOSELAND.
The streak of positive results continues for Max Biaggi and the Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team. In fact, the Roman rider, astride his RSV4, took second place in race 1 on the Valencia circuit. Max, who rocketed out of the third box of the grid, maintained his starting position, then engaging in a tight and passionate duel with James Toseland (Yamaha) to take second place behind the Brit Haslam who, taking advantage of the battle behind him, was able to decisively increase the gap.
An unfortunate race for the other Aprilia Alitalia rider, Leon Camier, who got caught in a slide (without any physical consequences) in the seventh lap after an excellent start which found him gaining several positions until he reached and kept fifth place. The young Englishman's progress is quite evident.
“It was a tough race – commented Max Biaggi – right from the beginning when I didn't feel entirely comfortable. I battled and passed Corser and found myself in a battle with Toseland. James defended very well. It was difficult to pass him and when I finally did I was able to find my lines and my pace, but Haslam was too far up front and we were only a few laps from the finish. But it is a nice second place and these are important points".
Leon Camier: "I was pushing quite hard when I fell. I braked hard over a depression and I lost the front end. There is work to be done if we want to compete with the leaders, especially in braking and covering the turns".
