Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

But it must still Sti11g to be relatively slow on tarmac that has not always been so infertile for Biaggi. "In 1995, in 250 testing here - four long years ago - I was lapping in 1:44.2, which is the best tin1e to date," he said. "It has only just been beaten on Friday'S test by another Aprilia rider, but it has taken them almost four years on the same bike." Ironically, the 1999 Aprilia RSV250 is the latest evolution of the bike Biaggi made so successful almost on his own. So is Biaggi up for the chalJenge of now making the YZR in his own image, like Doohan has made the Honda in his? "That is my target," he said, "with the Yamaha wurking around myself, adapting it to my style. It matches very well, and Yamahfl already kno\,,' that that's why they took me on. Last year they went on track to check corner speeds at many circuits. They see that my corner speed is always higher than the others'. Yamaha's strong, strong point is the corner speed. So the bike is matching my style." Is the engine as strong on the Yamaha as it is on the Honda, though? "In all of history, Honda have the better engine," he said. "More power and now also very good torque. The Yamaha is quite jerky, not so easy to use, but also the top end is a little bit peaky. The factory are working to make the bike very close to the Hunda's style. We make this our target." And Biaggi will need every last bit of horsepower to get closer to Doohan than even last year. He intends, however, to keep his distance from his fellow Monaco resident off the track. Could their relationship get even worse now that Binggi is on a Yatnaha, not a Honda? "First u( ('Itl, we have no rcl('ltionship at all, because of su many comments he has made," Biaggi said. "I think also the press do not help this because they like to play. It was too much for me. I decide in December l('lst year, when he was talking again about me, that he should onJy talk about my performance on the track, and not speak about me. He is not my friend, he is nut my family. Do not speak bad about a guy you do not know anything about." Maybe Doohan is still worried about Biaggi's challenge? "Yes, I think so," Biaggi said. "He did the same at Imola last year because he wanted to put pressure on me. I can understand this, and if it was only this, then I wouldn't have a problem. But stiU he doesn't speak nice about me personally, and all the bullshit and stories that do not exist. If I go to Australia and start to speak bad about him, then for sure all the TV channels would be saying, 'Oh, someone speaks bad about our champion. Tell us .. .' But I am not on that low leveL" Despite Duohan's sometimes fullfrontal verbal assaults on Biaggi the person, the Jittle HaJian is very able to jibe and parry in the game of off-track oneupmanship - nut bad for a non-native speaker who has never formally learned English. In fact, Biaggi seems to be the only guy who can remain unfazed by Doohan off the track, even after defeat. Does he really think Doohan is beatable? "I know I can beat him," he said. "I already did, at Suzuka last year. I think also that (Alex) CriviJle can, but he has been trying so many years - seven, maybe eight years. Same bike. If I was still on the Honda, for sure it would be very close, but now I am on a Yamaha, I don't know how it's gonna be. I think until the middle of the season we will be trying to make gains, but for sure when everything comes together, J will be right there." As well as a ne,'" Yamaha motorcycle, Biaggi has got another unfamiliar object in his pit garage: a teammate and he hasn't had one of those in the last three fuU seasons. "In those years, the team realized they could save some money because my teammates have always been beaten by me," Biaggi said. "I can do the results for both of us, so the tea m saves money." But now that he has one again, will it not feel strange? "In 500s, r don't mind, because so many things can change in one race," he said. "There are so many variables. Maybe we can help to find each other better tires, etc. It can be usefuJ to have a teammate." So has he shared any information with Checa so far? "I do not personally, but the datalogger information is shared," Biaggi said. "In styles, there is a difference. My style matches more the Yamaha. You must be more smooth." Smoothness is a modern, or at least reinvented, notion in the 500cc class. Could it be the fact tha t 500cc riders no longer need to slide the rear and abuse the throttle to go fast tha t has hel ped Biaggi adapt to a 500 so quickIv? / "Could be, but it has been proved for many years that the onJy way to go faster in the lap times is to go faster in the corners," he said. "Even if you have 10 more horsepower, you cannot go half a second quicker. Maybe you get a tenth on the straight, but always with your corner speed high, times will be better." And let uS not forget that for four stra igh t yea rs, Biaggi was the almightiest cornering machine in 250cc CPs, as his fou r titles prove - even if he usually did it the hard way after unforced errors, pushing the limits for no apparent reason. Did his winning adventures in the always-competitive world of 250cc CPs prepare Biaggi for his first season in the biggest league that of 500cc CPs? "I have to say that I have had the most stressful title battJes of all the riders in this paddock," Biaggi said. "Three of the four titles I won went to the last race. No one else has had to do this. I think I know quite well how to handle the pressure, how to play for everything in one hour. But this is not my problem now!" Right now, it appears that Biaggi has two main problems: the obvious Australian one (no pun intended) and a '99 Yamaha (which seems to be secretly acknowledged by some Brothers of the Tuning Fork as not necessarily an improvement on last year's potential championship winner.) In the interests of seeing a genuine fight for the title akin to last year's, let's hope that Biaggi and his new two-stroke plaything can mesh together in time for the first CP at Sepang on April 18. Maybe Max will have to wait another year for his first 500cc title, maybe someone else other than Doohan wilJ offer an even stronger title claim, but if anyone looks likely to topple Doohan from the throne, it's Max - The Yamaha Cuy. CItI Max: The Ferrari Guy A t thl' end of last sea:-,on, Biaggi W,lS offercd a tL--st drivc in possibly the most desirable four-whL'ded vehicle in eXlstl;,'nce: Michael Schumacher's 1998 Ferrari Formula One car. The origin.,1 invite came right after Biaggi had won his first-ever 500cc racl;,' at Suzuka, and was honored eight months later. Biaggi WJS "bIe to form a uniqlll;,' insight into wh

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