Max Biaggi decided to hang up his lid after winning his second World Superbike title and the 41-year old Roman Emperor is now a very rich, famous and retired pensioner, and 100% family man who will have the luxury of watch his two kids grow up, but his opinion will still always be sought after, especially by the Italian motorsports media and in this case the Gazzetta dello Sport.
Biaggi won five of his six World titles with Aprilia (3 in 250, 2 in WSBK), but for the upcoming season he isn’t betting on the Noale factory who will be fielding Eugene Laverty and Sylvain Guintoli, but he is predicting that Tom Sykes or Marco Melandri on winning the 2013 title: “It’s an easy prediction: they were second and third in the championship.
Leaving the championship I gave them a hand.
Melandri has been on the scene for 10 years and has more experience than the Brit, but in 2012 he made some important errors.
” adding “BMW will do well, but so will Kawasaki and the first rounds will shape the championship season.
” Even if Biaggi has his favourites, he doesn’t see them as his future heir.
Only one rider does have the same charisma and results as he does and that is former MotoGP rival, Valentino Rossi: “It’s hard to say, none of the present riders has the same career results that I started with.
The new Biaggi could be Valentino Rossi, when he decides to switch championships.
” Speaking about the upcoming MotoGP season, Biaggi said about Rossi, “He’s returning to the bike that won the title [Honda won the constructor’s title] but he’ll find the number one rider Jorge Lorenzo who is in the condition to win half the races” and regarding an eventual duel between Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, the Italian’s money is on his friend Jorge.
Regarding Marc Marquez’s debut, Biaggi has big hopes: “It’s been 13 years since a rookie won his first race in the top class.
I did it 1998 with the Yamaha 500.
It would be great that he could also do the same.
”
