P38
IN
THE
WIND
BIAGGI: BACK IN
THE SADDLE
Max Biaggi got a
play day on the
Pramac Ducati
MotoGP bike
at Mugello last
week.
M
ing with the group of people who were assigned
to me for this test, just like when I began in Aprilia
in 2009. There was a positive feeling between all
of us, even though it was just a single test. I'd like
to thank first Ducati, and also team Pramac for this
opportunity. We were rather unfortunate because
out of two days available we more or less only had
one due to the rain, but it's better than nothing. We
didn't do any damage and we had some good fun."
Fun was all Biaggi achieved, as his best lap time
was a high 1:52. The other Ducati riders posted
laps in the 1:48s.
NEW WORLD SUPERBIKE RULES
AGREEMENT REACHED
he shape of World Super-
T
bike's technical regulations
in 2014 and beyond came one
step closer to completion with a
joint statement coming from the
Portuguese round on Friday at
Portimao - from the FIM, Dorna
and MSMA - stating that a 'framework' for the new rules had finally
been worked out.
There is now an agreement
of the main technical rules and
costs for complete bikes, lease
packages and other performance components like sus-
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
ax Biaggi's desire to get back into the
saddle after his retirement last year resulted in a two-day test of the Pramac Ducati MotoGP bike at Mugello last week. Biaggi joined
his teammate for the day, Andrea Iannone, the
team's current MotoGP star who was riding
Ducati's Desmosedici GP13 lab bike.
Biaggi, who last rode a MotoGP bike in anger in
the mid-2000s said of what proved to be a daunting experience: "I'm back to being a rider for the
first time in eight months! It was great because this
is a sport that I really love, and after what feels like
a long time, it was a great opportunity to ride a MotoGP bike. In the early laps I actually felt that I had
really been away for eight years, because a MotoGP bike always has an immediate reaction, and a
progression that just doesn't exist in a Superbike.
It was also nice because I established a great feel-
