2010 World Superbike Championship leader Max Biaggi admits that even if he clinches the crown this year and even if the rumours about Aprilia stepping up transpire to be true, he has 'absolutely no desire' to return to MotoGP
Max Biaggi has stressed that he has 'absolutely no desire to return to MotoGP' even if he goes on to claim the World Superbike Championship laurels for the first time this year, having extended his advantage in the title standings over Alstare Suzuki rival Leon Haslam to a commanding 68 points at Brno last weekend.
After finishing two-and-a-half seconds down on Jonathan Rea in the opening encounter in the Czech Republic, some alterations to his Aprilia RSV-4 ahead of race two enabled Biaggi to scorch to a dominant victory later in the day, taking the chequered flag almost five seconds clear of any of his pursuers as Haslam could do no better than eighth and tenth respectively, thereby ceding potentially vital ground come season's end.
After replicating his results from the 2009 event – and setting some incredible lap times along the way in the second outing – the Italian performed a 'modest' wheelie for fans in celebration, and he acknowledged that things are now looking very good indeed for him championship-wise.
“We took some chances,” he told
GP One, when asked about his race two ride, “trying a solution that we hadn't tested here previously. We made some changes to the gearbox and rear suspension, and they worked out well. For that I want to thank the team, for believing in what I asked of them. This shows that we are a good team, not only in terms of racing but also in human terms.
“I could have simply stayed behind Rea, but I thought that a battle at the end might be risky because anything could happen, so I decided to try and get past and right away I was able to get a gap of two tenths. At that point I wanted to make the most of the situation before the tyres began to wear down, which is what happened in the end, but [by then] my lead was already too large.
“Maybe I could have kept up that pace for four or five laps, but I was at the limit. Instead, I ran the second half of the race with an eye on my pit board, where they were showing me the gaps.”
As he now plans to head off on his first family holiday with his fiancée and young daughter, Biaggi added that he is more than content as part of the
WSBK field, and that even should the rumours about Aprilia stepping up in the future transpire to be true, his premier class days – during which he triumphed on 13 occasions and three times finished as championship runner-up between 1998 and 2005 – are now firmly behind him.
“I have absolutely no desire to return to MotoGP,” the 39-year-old bluntly asserted, “not even for a new challenge.”
