Tuesday Conversation: Max Biaggi

Actually, we should have titled this week’s edition of this feature “Wednesday Conversation,” as we’ve been slammed by a couple of deadlines over on our print-publishing side and have fallen behind a little on posting. Anyway, better late than never, and we hope you enjoy this talk we shared with Max Biaggi in the Aprilia garage at the Miller Motorsports Park World Superbike round.

Max Biaggi says his past Grand Prix experience with Aprilia was one of the reasons he signed for this season. Matteo Cavadini/Alex Photo

RRX: How did you come to join forces with Aprilia?
Max Biaggi: They approached me last year in June or July—they came up and said they wanted to do this project, and they made a proposal. Obviously, I went into the background—it was a bike that still had to be designed and developed. I knew it would require patience, because this bike isn’t even a year old. So I considered that it wasn’t a bike that would be capable of winning at the beginning, but I decided to invest my time and my experience for two years with them, hoping that things would keep improving.

Was it a difficult decision?
I knew that it wouldn’t be easy, because to be immediately competitive is difficult. We did good preparations, but we didn’t have a stability of results to be able to say we would always be competitive. I took that into account; signing with them required faith.

Did it help that you had past experienced with Aprilia?
On a personal level, yes, but on an experience level, they had a motor that was a little slow. In this championship, I had a lot more experience than they did, since I’d already done two seasons. But together, we’re trying to take the right road and keep improving the bike. It’s not easy to work in a development phase during the season. That’s the most important problem.

Aprilia technical director Gigi Dall'Igna (right, looking on as Biaggi debriefs with Pirelli technicians) say signing the Roman was a dream for an Italian manufacturer. Matteo Cavadini/Alex Photo

What’s Aprilia like now, compared to when you rode for them before?
Many of the people are the same as seven years ago, but on the other hand, many things have changed. For example, making changes requires a lot more time. Things that are done outside of racing—but for racing—need a lot of time. Before, it was more streamlined—it was easier to make changes on the fly. It’s more bureaucratic now, and this is a problem that sometimes makes it difficult for us on a small level. That’s the difference I’ve noticed, also with the people who have power. There’s always a boss above another boss above another boss. Before, it was more direct, more familiar—easier for everyone. I guess when you work with a big manufacturer or a big group, that’s the way it happens.