Max Biaggi is quietly confident he can turn his front row starting position in Valencia into more wins, even if he expects the Ducatis to stay strong in the races.

Two weeks after claiming a double victory for Aprilia in Portugal, Biaggi will start third in Spain behind Cal Crutchlow and Carlos Checa after rising to the front of a closely fought Superpole battle.

Indeed, Biaggi is happy with his package heading into the race, but while Carlos Checa and Lorenzo Lanzi were the only Ducatis to make it into the Superpole shootout, the Italian is still expecting the twin-cylinder machines to rise to the fore come race day.

"With the first eight tightly packed into six tenths,” he said. “We are really very, very close. This is a track where it is very difficult to make a selection but I expect two very balanced races where the smallest details could make all the difference.

“I think that the two-cylinders maintain a certain advantage, but we are rather pleased with what we have. I'm still not 100 per cent satisfied, but we have certainly made progress compared to last year and tomorrow morning in the warm-ups we can make some more improvements to my RSV4. Then it will be important to get a good start.”

Biaggi's team-mate Leon Camier, however, was less satisfied with his performance, the Briton once again disappointed at being unable to turn in a fast single lap.

"Without a doubt,” Camier, who will start 13th, said. “We still need to improve on the fast lap. There was some forward progress, but it would appear not enough, especially here were the gaps are truly minimal.

“I made some mistakes but in compensation I am developing a good feeling with the new tyres. For the race I can say that I've a good pace, here we've also made consistent improvements with excellent work on the settings.

“It will be indispensable to start well since it isn't easy to overtake here. I like the track, but I would like it even better if I were starting up front!."

Products you might like

Search