WSBK » Biaggi courts Ducati Xerox

biaggi is the best choice for ducati xerox. he'll go there. shakey and canepa will be at sterilgarda. sykes and kagayama to swap seats. boulder may sign brendan roberts and laconi. corser will go to bmw. ant west to kawasaki. dunno about yamaha. rumours say toni elias could get it. maybe they should consider jakub smrz, who has impressed immensely.

@ raw dawg

i recall watching that race @ Sugo in 02 when Tamada won 1 of 2 races, but it appeared that he could've won both races that day, but held back...perhaps orders from HRC? It appeared he could've passed Colin on several places on the track, but especially coming out of the chicane onto Dunlop Bridge. Colin eventually really needed those 5 points, so I guess it was fortuitous.

And don't forget the likes of Crutchlow, Pitt, Camier(?), Sykes(?) who will all be keen as mustard to mix it on the world stage...

ducman1098r

You are speaking rubbish, corser hasnt signed for bmw yet, and could be at yamaha next year, you cant judge whos gonna win next year, kiyonari will be fantastic next year, jonny rea will surprise everyone when he goes wsbk next year, haga will be fast but inconsistent, ducati with biaggi or byrne will be fightning for wins, you have atleast 6 guys who could win the title and any given race, you cant judge what bike gonna be quick, what teams gonna be quick, one things for sure though, biaggi, haga, corser, byrne(?), kiyonari, rea(?), Neakirchner, Xaus, Hodgson(?), Spies (?).. the possibilities are endless for next year, wsbk has never had grid like it!

Well if it's all but done (which I don't think is the case at all) then lets hope that Shakey gets either the second Xerox seat and that mug Fabrizio gets dropped, or he gets a competitive ride with either GSE, Sterilgarda or Alstare Suzuki and at last gets the chance to prove what we all know he is capable of at World level. Besides, if Boo Hoo Biaggi gets the Xerox seat and Byrne doesn't get a sniff but gets a Ducati seat in WSB elsewhere, Biaggi won't last at Xerox for any more than a year - too old (pushing 38), will be too inconsistent for the top seat in WSB and will pi55 Tardozzi and co off too much like he pi55es everyone off. Byrne could then step into the seat in 2010 no problem...

From a pure business perspective, Biaggi is a low-risk choice. He's been competitive (albeit inconsistent) and instantly fast on many different types of bikes (2-stroke 125,250,500GP: 4-stroke 990GP: Suzuki WSBK: Ducati satellite WSBK). Sitting from the owner's box, he's an easy choice. Expensive but safe. And Ducati will finally get a solid Italian rider - good for fan support. It's all but done.

Oh please !! Let's not go all through the "Byrne's fast this year but where was he on the Stobart / Rizla bikes before that" story again. We've been over and over that many a time. Anyone who watches BSB / WSB with any degree of enthusiasm knows all the reasons behind that. Suffice to say (yet again)... Ducati 1098 = chalk, 4 Cylinder Stobart / Rizla = cheese (on **** tyres). Nuff said.

Sorry world chump but your rationale doesn't stack up mate. Byrne does enough to win when required and when possible. I have every faith that he'd push as hard as he needed to in WSB to challenge for wins, and with factory machinery and support under him would be a match for any of them on the day.

Haga is a great rider (one my all time Superbike favorites) but why would anyone have faith in Yamaha? Have they ever won the WSBK title? I may be wrong but I don't think they have ever won so why would they now?

Biaggi might be the likely choice but i dont think hes the best choice. Shane is an awesome choice and if Honda releases Neil because of the DMG fiasco he would be my first choice. Other wise the 2009 title is going to be between Biaggi, Corser and Haga. Biaggi and Haga will win races but Corser will take the title because hes consistent like Bayliss. I dont think it will matter that the BMW is new. Corser will make it work just like the suzuki. Thats is he takes the BMW job. If he stays with Yamaha then Haga will win. The R1 is not suited to him like Haga.

Anyhoo Shane should get the job or at least the #2 seat.

It would be great to see Biaggi on the Ducati factory team. Even though he got injured this year he has shown that he has the ability and determination. He's on a privateer team and while yes I'm sure they get decent support from the factory they don't get everything they need as fast at the factory guys. You also forget this is his first year on a twin (Ducati) after several years on 4 cyl machinery. Plus it's only his second year in WSB. While Yamaha or Aprilia is a thought I'd like to see him on the Factory Ducati team or back in MotoGP on a decent team.