Max Biaggi insists Aprilia's difficult World Superbike weekend at Valencia can be viewed as a positive as it gave them a chance to test their adaptability when faced with a difficult situation.
Despite showing impressive form in provisional qualification, problems with vibration at the rear of the RSV-4 conspired to leave Biaggi a lowly 18th on the grid.
Battling to a finish of eighth position in both races, although Biaggi admits the results look somewhat average on paper, he insists he had to take several risks to get himself and team that high.
“It was a very difficult,” he said. “I gave it my all, but it's very difficult to pass on this track and I also took a lot of risks trying to do even better. These two eighth place finishes may seem disappointing, but after the bad results in the Superpole, it really was impossible to do any better. We did pretty well during the single-lap trials, but we weren't able to set the pace with the racing tyres.
With Aprilia reduced to one bike after Shinya Nakano crashed and injured himself during provisional qualifying, Biaggi was remaining positive, claiming the problems over the weekend will teach the team how to cope better in the future.
“My team-mate and I, to whom I wish a speedy recovery, experienced the same problem with vibrations at the back of the bikes that we had at Philip Island. We tried changing the alignment but the situation didn't improve and the Superpole reflected the situation we found ourselves to be in.
“This can be viewed as a success in that it has taught us to better evaluate the problems that we encounter and find solutions as quickly as possible.”
