Max Biaggi
Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi ( born June 26, 1971 in Rome ) is an Italian former motorcycle racer.
- 6.1 In the World Motorcycle Championship
- 6.2 In the Superbike World Championship
- 7.1 External links
- 7.2 Notes and references
Life
Between 1994 and 1997 he won in the 250 cc class of the motorcycle world championship four world titles in a row.
Since 2009, Biaggi goes for Aprilia in the World Superbike Championship at the start, he was 26 September 2010, two races before the season finale, Superbike world champion. He also won the Superbike World Championship in 2012.
Personal
Biaggi is 1,70 m tall, his main residence is located in Monte Carlo. He lives together with Italian fashion model Eleonora Pedron, September 22, 2009 came the first daughter into the world.
Career
Early years
In his childhood, Max Biaggi interested initially only for football, he wanted to be a professional soccer player and for his favorite club AS Roma, play. His interest in motorsport was awakened by his friend Daniele. This took him on a Sunday once at the Vallelunga Race Track with where Max turned his first laps on a race track. From that day on, Max was a motor sports enthusiast. His father Pietro, however, was not pleased about it because it was too dangerous sport and initially refused him financial support. After he had convinced himself at a later date by the seriousness of the intentions of his son, he worked as his mechanic.
1989, at the age of 18 years, Biaggi denied in Magione on Honda 's first race in the Italian 125cc Sport Production Championship and crashed it. The following season he won the championship with six wins in seven races ahead of Lucio Cecchinello.
1991 Biaggi won at first the 250 cc Championship with Aprilia.
250 cc World Championship
Max Biaggi made his debut at the Grand Prix of Europe 1991 Aprilia in the 250 cc class of the Motorcycle World Championship, but did not finish. This year, he denied another three world championship races in which the 12th place finish in San Marino was his best result.
In 1992 he started as a regular driver for the Valesi team at Aprilia in the 250cc class. His teammate was fellow Pierfrancesco Chili. In the fifth race of the season, the Grand Prix of Italy, Biaggi managed third place his first podium after he collided with teammate chili and had this brought to fall. At the last race of the season at Kyalami, South Africa, he was even able to celebrate his first victory. At the end of the season, he finished with 78 points in fifth place in the overall standings.
For the 1993 season Biaggi joined the team Rothmans Honda Erv Kanemoto of. He achieved a victory at the European Grand Prix, two second and two third places and finished the season with 142 points followed by four of the championship standings.
In the 1994 season, Max Biaggi went back to Aprilia and started for the Chesterfield team with a completely black painted machine. He won five races, won a total of 10 podium finishes and finished with 234 points, finally, world champion in the 250 cc class.
In the following years Biaggi dominated the 250cc World Championship. He won on Aprilia in 1995 with eight victories in 13 races superior to the title. In the 1996 season he sat with just six points ahead of the Germans by Honda drivers Ralf Waldmann.
For the 1997 season Biaggi started again for Kanemoto Honda, after he had been sent away by Aprilia. He won by just two points ahead of the world championship, again against Waldmann, who was his teammate this year. The title was only decided in the last race of the season in the Australian Phillip Iceland, the Waldmann won, while Biaggi but secured the title with second place.
The world championships won between 1994 and 1997 represented a new record, never before had a pilot managed to win four world titles in a row in the 250 cc class.
500 cc class and MotoGP
For the 1998 season, Max Biaggi joined with the Kanemoto team in the 500 cc class. In his first race in this class, the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, as a debutant succeeded him in pole position, fastest lap and the race win, an achievement that last Jarno Saarinen in 1973 succeeded before him. In Brno, Czech Republic Biaggi later succeeded another victory. After his disqualification at the Grand Prix of Catalunya in Barcelona, where he ignored a stop-and -go penalty, the Italians, however, no title chances had more and eventually became vice champion behind the defending champion Mick Doohan.
For the 1999 season, Biaggi joined Yamaha and started for the Marlboro Yamaha factory team. With a win and seven podium finishes, he finished in the final score to the fourth world rank.
In the following two years Biaggi fought against the most superior Honda in the 2000 season, he was third in the World Cup and secured Yamaha the Constructors' title in 2001, he reached the Vice World Champion Valentino Rossi behind.
As the 2002 season, the 500 - cm ³ - became the MotoGP class and therefore the hitherto conventional two- stroke engines were replaced by 990- cc four-stroke engine, Biaggi drove the Yamaha factory team, the new YZR -M1, but especially at the beginning of the season of the new Honda RC211V was not equal. Nevertheless Biaggi won two victories and eight podiums and in turn became Vice World Champion behind Rossi.
For the 2003 season, Max Biaggi joined Honda Camel Pramac Pons team to Sito Pons, however, where he received no official factory machine. With two wins and regular scoring ranks he went this year to third place in the overall standings.
In 2004, Biaggi rode in the Pons team. Thanks to a strong first half of the season, he took again the third world rank.
Biaggi then signed a 2005 contract with the Repsol Honda factory team. There, however, he was in the 2005 season do not meet the expectations. At the start of the season Biaggi was handicapped by an injury to his left ankle, which he had contracted during Supermoto training. Reach Him only four podiums and not a single victory. At the end of the season he finished only fifth world ranking. During the season there were inconsistencies with Honda, since he publicly criticized the bike again and again. His contract was not renewed at end of season and they refused to put him in a client service team bike available.
Although he would have brought in millions of dollars thanks to his good relationship with the RJR Group sponsorship of cigarette brand Camel, Biaggi found a job even with no other MotoGP team. He then tried to get a starting place in the Superbike World Championship for 2006. The Alstare Corona Suzuki team was not averse, but had with Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama already two drivers under contract and no spare capacity for a third factory bike. Therefore, Biaggi decided to pause and go until 2007 for Suzuki in the Superbike World Championship at the start of one year.
Superbike World Championship
Suzuki factory rider
In December 2006, Biaggi began to test the Suzuki GSX- R 1000 racing machine. Biaggi stressed that the characteristics of the superbikes not that of a Grand Prix engine is to compare and he therefore had to change completely his driving style.
The 2007 season played Max Biaggi finally in Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra team on a GSX- R 1000 K7. The season start was ideal for him at the first race at Losail he immediately won race one, the second race that day he finished second. At the end of the season, in the Biaggi once stood on the podium in 25 races 17, he had narrowly beaten in the overall standings James Toseland and Noriyuki Haga. Since the end of the season withdrew the main sponsor of the team, the Mexican beer Corona producer, could no longer meet Biaggi's salary demands and therefore decided not to renew his contract.
Ducati privateer
End of October 2007 it was announced Biaggi change to private team Sterilgarda Go Eleven. He drove in the 2008 season alongside Rubén Xaus one of the new Ducati 1098 RS 8 In the first season event in Qatar Biaggi was defeated in the first run just under the factory Ducati rider Troy Bayliss, in the second race he finished third. In the second run of the second race of the season in the Australian Phillip Iceland Max Biaggi moved in with a heavy fall in the Doohan Corner at a fraction of the left hand, which disabled him for some time. In the second half of the season Biaggi get constant results in the top ten, but not a race win. He secured 238 points with seventh place in the final standings and was the second best Ducati rider Troy Bayliss after, the superior won the world title.
Return to Aprilia
On September 18, 2008 Max Biaggi signed after weeks of speculation a two -year contract with Aprilia, after seven years of absence returned to the Superbike World Championship in 2009. Already during the first season event at Phillip Iceland Biaggi qualified for the second place. In the race he took the ranks eleven and 15 In the following runs in Qatar Biaggi was off third. He then drove consistently among the top ten. The end of June reached Max Biaggi finishing second in the first race at Donington Park had hitherto been his best season placement, in the second race he caused an accident in which he incurred injury on his right foot. Four weeks later, the race on his favorite track in Brno, Czech Republic, Biaggi won the first race despite injury and caused quite the first Aprilia victory in the World Superbike Championship since Régis Laconi 2001. In the second race he finished second. In the remaining eight races of the season Biaggi rode a four podiums and finished all the races in the top six. With this strong second half of the season he secured his fourth World Cup overall.
In 2010, Biaggi approached for Aprilia in the World Superbike Championship. His new team-mate was the British Superbike Champion in 2009, Leon Camier. With ten wins and a total of 14 podium finishes in 26 races, the Romans could consider securing the world title before the British Leon Haslam already at the penultimate race weekend in Imola.
2012 Biaggi joined again for Aprilia in the World Superbike Championship and won with 0.5 points ahead of Tom Sykes his second World Superbike title. His new team-mate Eugene Laverty was the Irishman. At the end of the season Biaggi announced his retirement from motorcycle racing.
Rivalry with Valentino Rossi
Biaggi's greatest sporting rival was for years his compatriot Valentino Rossi. Culmination of this rivalry was the season of 2001. During the Grand Prix of Japan Biaggi Rossi urged in an overtaking maneuver at high speed off the track. Rossi later cut it when overtaking and then showed him the raised middle finger. After the Grand Prix of Catalunya in the same year it came before the ceremony to a scuffle between the two.
Formula 1 tests
Already tested in 1999 Max Biaggi on the Pista di Fiorano Ferrari F399 a Formula 1 race car and came pretty close as to the times of the factory drivers. In January 2006, he tested at Silverstone three days a Midland - Toyota, some media representatives saw him already as a test driver for the team. However, the trip was a PR event.