2007 Superbike World Championship
Preview: Round 12, Vallelunga, Italy
MAX READY FOR A WARM WELCOME.
Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra head to the twelfth round
of this year’s championship at Vallelunga, near Rome,
anticipating a good result for Max Biaggi. Max’s hometown
is Rome and a huge turn out of fans is expected at the track,
situated fifteen minutes or so from the Italian capital. Although,
it will be a ‘home race’ for Max, he has not raced
there for over ten years! He has tested at Vallelunga two
times - once last November and in July this year - but knows
that the weekend ahead will not be an easy one, as the other
top teams have also tested there. His team mate Yukio also
took part in the July tests, but the coming race weekend will
be a hard one as he has not yet fully recovered from his recent
knee and hand injuries.
Max
Although everybody is calling this my home race, the last
time I raced here was in a 125 sports production race over
ten years ago. Vallelunga is quite a narrow track compared
to the other tracks we race at, though there are some passing
places - usually on the brakes. Because of that, it’s
important to do well in qualifying and Superpole and be on
the front row of the grid. For me though, that’s the
same for any racetrack. Although we’ve tested at Vallelunga,
I’m sure the conditions will not be the same this weekend.
We didn’t get the set-up 100% before, so there will
be work to do in practice and qualifying. It is an interesting
track, quite technical and has a very slow first gear hairpin,
so gearing is going to be important. I do not feel under any
extra pressure because it is a ‘home race’ and
the only pressure I have is what I put on myself to do well.
For me, racing in front of my fans is a pleasure and I hope
I can give them a couple of good results.
Yukio
After the last race in Germany, I have seen some specialists
about my injuries. I have been told that these kind of injuries
need at least three weeks to heal, so I know I will not be
100% at Vallelunga. But this will not stop me from trying
my hardest. This year has been too many crashes for me. There
has not been enough time when I have been fully fit - but
racing is like that sometimes. I am not sure how the weekend
will go. The track is a bit narrow in places and some areas
are not as safe as other tracks. I will do my best, but I
do not need any more crashes!
2006 results
No race before this year.
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