Oh Max...

[DogBoy]

Max Biaggi parts ways with Alstare Suzuki... clicky


...and is immediately connected to every (real or imagined) open seat in WSBK or MotoGP. clicky

[Capirex]

I don't understand why Alstare can't come up with another sponsor.  There has got to be a euro brand out there that would love to replace Modelo.  

Everyone loves to hate Max but the fact of the matter is that WSBK and MotoGP are both better with him than without him.  He certainly has proven himself this year so you can bank on him having a ride somewhere next year.  I'd love to see him mix it up in GP again.  

[Jeff N]

Let us not worry about Max's future. He'll find a lucrative ride somewhere. He's a great racer.

Let us postulate something outrageous.

Eraldo, King of the pasta

Max Biaggi, multi-time world champion in the lesser classes, has announced that he will ride for "Fast by Ferraci MV Augusta" in the 2008 AMA Superbike (sponsor to be determined) series.

Who wouldn't want to see Max and Mat try to chase Ben?

[veefer800canuck]

Let us not worry about Max's future. He'll find a lucrative ride somewhere. He's a great racer.

Let us postulate something outrageous.

Eraldo, King of the pasta


Who wouldn't want to see Max and Mat try to chase Ben?

I was just thinking the same thing.

Actually, I was bummed to hear that Edwards was going to Tech 3.

I was hoping that he'd get Zemke's seat at AmHon on the new CBR1k.  

[DogBoy]

I don't understand why Alstare can't come up with another sponsor.  There has got to be a euro brand out there that would love to replace Modelo.  

Everyone loves to hate Max but the fact of the matter is that WSBK and MotoGP are both better with him than without him.  He certainly has proven himself this year so you can bank on him having a ride somewhere next year.  I'd love to see him mix it up in GP again.  

Supposedly Max wanted a HUGE salary increase that was beyond the budget of the Alstare team or most (all?) other teams in WSBK. He had been trading insults in the media before the Vallelunga round.

I like watching him ride but I would hate be on the team that has to put up with him the other 99% of the time.

[steve.ski]

From what I understand, he's always been a bit challenging to work with. Whether techs or bean counters.

[phoenix]

Supposedly Max wanted a HUGE salary increase that was beyond the budget of the Alstare team or most (all?) other teams in WSBK.

well, that was what the article said -

Alstare's title sponsor Corona Extra is withdrawing from motorsportand Francis Batta's team says it is unable to find the finance required to re-sign the triple 2007 race winner.

It wasn't Max quitting the team, it was the team saying they could not meet his demands so he was released.

[heinee]

well, that was what the article said -


It wasn't Max quitting the team, it was the team saying they could not meet his demands so he was released.

= money?

[DogBoy]

Semantics. The team chose not to renew according to the nice words in the press release - which are usually just one side of the story. Some reports on Crash.net or SPEEDTV.com say Biaggi wanted two or three times his current salary, others say he wanted more involvement from the Suzuki Factory. Either way, it would appear that once again Biaggi made demands beyond what even a successful team could offer.

There is no questioning his talent, but its fair to question some of his decisions. Biaggi's Yamaha factory MotoGP team wasn't good enough so he switches to a major Honda MotoGP team. Then that Honda team isn't good enough so he demands to be on the Factory Honda team. During a season on the Honda factory team, he complains he isn't beiing given the right support so Honda doesn't renew. For 2006, no one in MotoGP will sign him despite obvious talent and his ability to bring sponsorship $$$'s. in 2007, Biaggi goes to WSBK and performs well but again demands more support. His WSBK team does not renew his contract. There seems to be a pattern here.

All the while Biaggi's results are good but no better than several other riders who make less demands.

[Yamadog]

And apparently he burned bridges so badly with Honda that HRC are blocking Gresini's desire to sign Max. Dumb sh!t. (I think the other riders are happier to not have him and his overly ambitious moves on track anyway. Dude flat out is dangerous! It's a wonder Troy Corser didn't flatten his nose after the last WSBK race at Magny Cours.)

[spinmaster]

I heard a rumor that Max is in talks with Yamaha to ride AMA SBK next year.  I swear, realy, I heard that.  It's got to be real.

[veefer800canuck]

Nope, he's signed with the Sterilgarda WSBK team, riding a Ducati next year.

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2007/Oct/071030a.htm

[Orson]

Nope, he's signed with the Sterilgarda WSBK team, riding a Ducati next year.

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2007/Oct/071030a.htm

after he burns this bridge to Ducati, that'll leave Kawasaki left as the only unburned bridge...unless he goes back to racing 250s and signs with KTM  

or BMW in 2009  

wait...there's still Gilera in the 125 class.

[bizarro]

after he burns this bridge to Ducati, that'll leave Kawasaki left as the only unburned bridge...unless he goes back to racing 250s and signs with KTM  

or BMW in 2009  

wait...there's still Gilera in the 125 class.

[atypical1]

Holy crap! I did not expect that one. Max might be an ass but he is a great racer and it will be fun to watch him is WSBK. I really wish he ended up in AMA though...I don't like the AMA series but would watch it if Max were involved.

james

[Mookie]

Nope, he's signed with the Sterilgarda WSBK team, riding a Ducati next year.

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2007/Oct/071030a.htm

I'm gonna love watching Max and Reuben fight each other for every corner.  

[DogBoy]

I'm gonna love watching Max and Reuben fight each other for every corner.  

I think that will only last one corner. Hope that team has a lot of spares*.



*More than just "Ruben Xaus is our rider" level of spares.

[highside]

after he burns this bridge to Ducati, that'll leave Kawasaki left as the only unburned bridge...unless he goes back to racing 250s and signs with KTM  

or BMW in 2009  

wait...there's still Gilera in the 125 class.

He actually tried to get on with the Kawasaki GP team in 06 but Bridgestone apparantly refused to make tires for him. So if you exclude HRC and Bridgestone (and maybe Suzuki and Yamaha) there aren't a whole lot of GP rides left.

http://www.crash.net/news_view.asp?cid=6&id=123001

[Jeff N]

There are rumors of Illmor's return. If Max got a ride there and Jeremy McWilliams was his team mate the fireworks would be magnificent.

[DogBoy]

WSBK is going to even more f*cking awesome this year.

2008 Testing - Biaggi lowers Phillip Island record
Eurosport - Thu, 17 Jan 14:54:00 2008
Max Biaggi lowered the unofficial lap record at Phillip Island as his Sterilgarda Ducati team returned to the track for two extra days of pre-season testing.
The 36-year-old Italian and his Spanish team-mate Ruben Xaus both remained at the circuit while most of the rest of the field headed back to Europe, in a bid to get some extra development work done on their new 1098 bikes.
The result was stunning. Over the two days, Biaggi found 1.8 seconds on-track to lap in 1:31.700 - a tenth of a second quicker than the official lap record that Troy Corser set on his Yamaha during race one at the track last year.

link to entire story


Note at the end of the video where he appears to looking for a teammate to collide with in Pit Lane. 

[Mr Sunshine]

Oh that Duc sounds AWESOME!!!!!!  I can't wait for Utah.

[ejh]

that duc does sound so sweet.

and, no. 3 can ring the twin for an unofficial philip island lap record.

ejh

[miles]

[Jeff N]

[JonS]

This seems like as good a place as any for Soups photo of the new 1098 SBK.

[bogthing]

Dee-lightful!

No one is running them in AMA...am I mistaken on that?

[Mr Sunshine]

There was one Colorado team that said they would if the AMA allowed them to use a race piston.  The AMA does so we should see one team.  Can't remember the name.

[falcofred]

Larry Pegram will be racing the 848 in the Formula Extreme class. It's nice to hear one or two twins dicing it out with the in line fours.

[jed]

There was one Colorado team that said they would if the AMA allowed them to use a race piston.  The AMA does so we should see one team.  Can't remember the name.

Boulder Ducati I think.  Easy to spot as they drive the old Ducati factory rig to the tracks.

[Mr Sunshine]

Larry Pegram will be racing the 848 in the Formula Extreme class. It's nice to hear one or two twins dicing it out with the in line fours.

848 != 1098R

[black hills]

after he burns this bridge to Ducati, that'll leave Kawasaki left as the only unburned bridge...

I don't know? I think in the big$$$$ world of racing burnt bridges can easily be rebuilt if the performance warrants it.

[tc305]

last summer my wife and i went to Keith code school level 1. That colorado race team of which you speak was there at miller.  Huge tractor trailer all painted up with ducati colors. Well while we were waiting for things to start they rolled out a brand spankin new 1098. Dear God in heaven that's a good looking bike.The first drill of instruction on the track was 4Th gear no brakes.I'm on my sv650 a nice little track  bike . Well the first real corner i come to this red blur flies by me like I'm tied to a rock i mean just gone .When we finish our drill we go back to our instructors 2 to 3 people per instructor to discuss what we did right an what we need to work on. My partner  with the instructor is the ducati guy. It turns out that he raced formula extreme the weekend before and he was a bit off the pace . Guy's name is Marty Cragil was an Australian super bike champ of some sort some years ago. I wonder if he fits in the team somewhere? Was a real eye opener to be on the track with somebody that fast.

[veefer800canuck]

last summer my wife and i went to Keith code school level 1. That colorado race team of which you speak was there at miller.  Huge tractor trailer all painted up with ducati colors. Well while we were waiting for things to start they rolled out a brand spankin new 1098. Dear God in heaven that's a good looking bike.The first drill of instruction on the track was 4Th gear no brakes.I'm on my sv650 a nice little track  bike . Well the first real corner i come to this red blur flies by me like I'm tied to a rock i mean just gone .When we finish our drill we go back to our instructors 2 to 3 people per instructor to discuss what we did right an what we need to work on. My partner  with the instructor is the ducati guy. It turns out that he raced formula extreme the weekend before and he was a bit off the pace . Guy's name is Marty Cragil was an Australian super bike champ of some sort some years ago. I wonder if he fits in the team somewhere? Was a real eye opener to be on the track with somebody that fast.

Marty Cragill ran for Mat Mladin a couple of years ago in AMASB. Mat fielded his own Gixxer 1K (he owns a Suzuki dealership in OZ) and Cragill was his rider. Marty is also Australian.

[tc305]

Wonder why he was rideing the duc? Anybody know anything more about this?

[DogBoy]

Cragil raced for Boulder Ducati last year in FX on 749R (punched out to 848cc, IIRC). He finished third at Virginia and Road Atlanta.

Not much info on their website yet but I think there are reports of the 848 racing FX again this year.

[tc305]

seemed like a great guy . ill have to keep up on what he is doing considering the fact i have been lapped by him at a rideing school .  it was interesting how someone at that level was there learning  the same things as i was. just goes to show you can always learn something new

[hig4s]

after he burns this bridge to Ducati, that'll leave Kawasaki left as the only unburned bridge...unless he goes back to racing 250s and signs with KTM  

or BMW in 2009  

wait...there's still Gilera in the 125 class.

BMW is fielding a team for 08,  KTM is also planing to be in WSBK with their RC8 for 08

[DogBoy]

I believe those are 2009 efforts. I don't think BMW or KTM has a bike that meets WSBK homologation for 2008. Neither is listed in the official full season entry for the Superbike class.
link to 2008 provisional WSBK permanent rider list

[hig4s]

I believe those are 2009 efforts. I don't think BMW or KTM has a bike that meets WSBK homologation for 2008. Neither is listed in the official full season entry for the Superbike class.
link to 2008 provisional WSBK permanent rider list

Back in September BMW had said they were going to field Alex Hofman in the 08 series.. I didn't realize they had changed that.

[squeezer]

Back in September BMW had said they were going to field Alex Hofman in the 08 series.. I didn't realize they had changed that.

I was thinking BMW would be around this season too, but since I don't read the mags I'm usually the last to know.

[DogBoy]

Back in September BMW had said they were going to field Alex Hofman in the 08 series.. I didn't realize they had changed that.

I just read that Hoffman signed to develop the new Aprilia V4 Superbike in 2008 and race it in 2009. BMW isn't racing the HP2 in World Superbike so they don't have a bike to race at the moment. Last fall, BMW announced a WSBK effort for 2009 using a 1000cc inline four-cylinder. (Pretty much a German GSXR1000.) 2008 looks really good for WSBK and 2009 looks even better.  

[miles]

I just read that Hoffman signed to develop the new Aprilia V4 Superbike in 2008 and race it in 2009. BMW isn't racing the HP2 in World Superbike so they don't have a bike to race at the moment. Last fall, BMW announced a WSBK effort for 2009 using a 1000cc inline four-cylinder. (Pretty much a German GSXR1000.) 2008 looks really good for WSBK and 2009 looks even better.  

A V4?  It'll be slow.

[DogBoy]

A V4?  It'll be slow.

Oh please, please, please let us have just one thread free of that discussion.  

[Mr Sunshine]

seemed like a great guy . ill have to keep up on what he is doing considering the fact i have been lapped by him at a rideing school .  it was interesting how someone at that level was there learning  the same things as i was. just goes to show you can always learn something new

I was lapped many of times by Doug Chandler during an endurance race last year. I felt privilage for a dude with the words "Champ" on the back of his leathers to pass me like I was sitting still.

[miles]

Oh please, please, please let us have just one thread free of that discussion.  

You mentioned The Configuration That Must Not Be Spoken Of.  I blame it all on you.

[Mr Sunshine]

I just read that Hoffman signed to develop the new Aprilia V4 Superbike in 2008 and race it in 2009. BMW isn't racing the HP2 in World Superbike so they don't have a bike to race at the moment. Last fall, BMW announced a WSBK effort for 2009 using a 1000cc inline four-cylinder. (Pretty much a German GSXR1000.) 2008 looks really good for WSBK and 2009 looks even better.  

V4 eh?  I'm gonna have to see how much that bugger is when it comes out...I wouldn't mind racing one of them...too bad a liter bike is a handful on the track.

[DogBoy]

You mentioned The Configuration That Must Not Be Spoken Of.  I blame it all on you.

 

[JIMLARCH]

last summer my wife and i went to Keith code school level 1. That colorado race team of which you speak was there at miller.  Huge tractor trailer all painted up with ducati colors. Well while we were waiting for things to start they rolled out a brand spankin new 1098. Dear God in heaven that's a good looking bike.The first drill of instruction on the track was 4Th gear no brakes.I'm on my sv650 a nice little track  bike . Well the first real corner i come to this red blur flies by me like I'm tied to a rock i mean just gone .When we finish our drill we go back to our instructors 2 to 3 people per instructor to discuss what we did right an what we need to work on. My partner  with the instructor is the ducati guy. It turns out that he raced formula extreme the weekend before and he was a bit off the pace . Guy's name is Marty Cragil was an Australian super bike champ of some sort some years ago. I wonder if he fits in the team somewhere? Was a real eye opener to be on the track with somebody that fast.

Marty Craggil was, I believe, Australian Superbike champ twice in the 90's.  I'm surprised that he doesn't do better in AMA, as I have tape of him in 1998? racing in the Australian Superbike series when he was the champ. His main contender (either he won, or the other guy won) was a guy called Troy Bayliss.

Bayliss was riding a GSXR750 and Craggil was riding a ZX7R.  I couldn't believe the things Bayliss was doing with the gixxer, and was very impressed. When he started racing WSB etc. I wasn't surprised at his success.  Craggil seemed very good also, so as I say, I'm surprised that he hasn't done better in AMA.