Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128345
N THE Biaggi To Be Honda Factory Rider? best possible results for my team, which is a very good team," Biaggi said, "Fo r next year, many things are possible, but nothi ng has been decided yet ." down irrevocably at an ear ly stage , scotching any hopes Gibernau might have been Biaggi's contract is Will Max Biaggi join Honda 's factory team in 20051 have learned in the last yea r that the word 'impossible ' should be taken out of the dictionary. If there is goodwill, it is very surprising what compromises can be made. The with Pramac rather than his Camel Pons team, which so lves some issues for Honda if it decides to draft him in to the factory team in place of the so- far disappointing Alex Barros. HRC already has an agreement with Repso l to sponsor the full factory team and two weeks ago announced it would have two full-factory bikes for next season and that the satellite teams will ge t a lower grade or motorcycle . The other candi- nursing . Honda mo tor sport manager Car lo Fiorani admitted that the re were a lot of rumors in the Italian press, but said, "They are without grounds - at the moment. But I situation at the moment is we are racing for this year's championship, with Alex Barros and Nicky Hayden . At the moment, in rea lity when you look at who is available for next year, there is not any other option. The situation isvery difficult Barros' results have . been disappointing, but if you look at the championship and at who is available, it would be hard to replace him. And today he qualified second and Max [Biaggi] was 12th. "If we were to take e ither Sete or Max, there would be big pro blems with their teams and the sponsors. The sponsors want to keep Sete . Max Biaggi's contract is not with his sponsors, Camel, but they want to keep him, and if we take him away then Pons might lose his sponsorship and the date, Sete Gibernau, is yste ry surrounds Max Biaggi's rumored move to the Honda factory MotoGP team next year. All concerned remained tight -lipped at Doha , the site of the Qatar Grand Prix, September 2, and M the situation is still in a wait-and-see mode. The Italian media has been full of the story, and Biaggi himself made a statement live on Italian TV the day before the Qatar GP. In full diplomatic mode, he neither confirmed nor denied any rumors. "I want to finish this season and get the team might collapse. We want to wait until in a different pos ition. He has a contract with Telef6nica MoviStar rather than the team. It is understood that there have already been discussions between Repsol and Telef6nica after Australia before we make any decisions . Now is not a good time to talk about with a view of sharing sponsorship next year if Gibemau was to move, but that they broke it. But one option is to change the rider." Asked if Biaggihad been approached, he answered, "Fro m my side, no. But he is a Ho nda rider," Medals... We Need Those Stinkin' Medals! The AMA has announced that it has filed a formal appeal with the FIM to protest the denial of International Six Days End uro (ISDE) finishers medals to 23 members of Team USA. The American riders - w ho are among the many Class II and Class III competitors, nearly two-thirds of all ISDE participants, also den ied medals - chose not to ride the motocross course on the event's final day because the track's dusty conditions were judged by riders and team officials to be unsafe. Requests fro m Team USA and o thers to cancel the motocross event for safety reasons were denied, acc ording to t he AMA. Competitors first were informed that failing to ride the final mo to would carry a penalty of one minute for each lap not ridden; later, it was announced that medals would not be awarded to riders who did not finish the course. "These ta lented riders traveled thousands of miles and spent their own money to compete for personal and team pride," AMA presi dent Rob ert Rasor said. "We 're simply asking that o ur riders be awarded the medals that they earned," 10 oaOBER 13,2004 • CYCLE NEWS 40th Anniversary