Biaggi to get 'something new' from Honda.

Despite suffering his first non-score of the 2003 season last time out at the Sachsenring, Max Biaggi still finds himself the third player in the championship hunt - and Brno is his circuit.

"Brno holds a special place in my heart as I have won here with all of the bikes I have ridden in the past: Aprilia and Honda in 250cc, and Honda and Yamaha in 500cc/MotoGP. How can I not like it!" he smiled. "The track is truly fantastic, with impressive steep climbs and descents. I cannot explain exactly what I feel when I enter that long last uphill straight or when I ride through the corners in the last section. It's exciting.

"It's a track very wide where you can find your own lines, not like the Sachsenring where you have just one line to follow. To be competitive you have to be fast in the corners, to let the bike flow through them."

After his spectacular German GP fall, the Roman desperately needs a victory this weekend if he is to get his championship hopes back on track - and excitingly for MotoGP fans, insists second is no longer an option for him.

"I'm still angry with my crash at the Sachsenring, and it's right I feel that way! I'll forget about it only by winning. It's impossible to fight for the title with just podium finishes: that's why at Sachsenring I was pushing so hard," he stated.

Finally, although Honda has ruled out giving Biaggi equal equipment to Rossi, Gibernau, Ukawa and Hayden, they will be handing the four-times 250cc world champion 'something new' this weekend.

Biaggi has already received a new slipper clutch (Suzuka), fairing (Le Mans) and chassis (Donington) so far this year in a pre-arranged programme of paid for parts. Fellow 2003 RCV runner Makoto Tamada also recieves the same developments.

"It seems like we will have a lot of work to do at Brno because we should be receiving something new from Honda, but of course I will be delighted to put in this work," said Max with a wry smile.

"Max has made excellent progress over recent races and his understanding of the bike and the team has evolved considerably," said team owner Sito Pons. "The times he set in the test in Brno after the British Grand Prix would lead us to be optimistic ahead of the race, although I am conscious that we have a lot of hard work to do over the weekend."