Aprilia breaks new ground again with championship win
Few set-ups in global racing have been as successful as Aprilia over the years; with Max Biaggi's win on the official Aprilia Racing machine just the latest in a long line of table-topping hits.
Aprilia has won 38 World Championships in GP racing (20 in the 125cc division and 18 in the 250 class), four in SBK racing, plus seven in Supermoto and two in trials. That makes 51, a remarkable number for a factory that has not been in existence for as long as many of its rivals. No fewer than 44 of those wins have come with current Aprilia Racing boss Luigi Dall'Igna at the engineering helm, including even those won by the Derbi brand.
The win for Biaggi in 2012 is all the more remarkable because Biaggi had to have an all-new pit crew created around him for the past season, and had only a couple of months to get ready for the start of the season.
And what a start it was to his second championship-winning year in SBK, as Biaggi explains. "I am super-happy even now but this is one of the most difficult championships I have ever had," said Max. "Two months before race one I had no crew, so we took this guy, that guy... My crew chief was very good at bringing the right people. He is calm, his way to work was very different from what I was used to working with. He is a good guy and I get along with him well. All the others working in Aprilia (too), so we made the team together. He was thinking about people's character and behaviour. It was a nice story and it started right away by winning in a track that we had never won at before. With the man, a good bike and a good team you can make it, even if the team is fresh. We made something very special and through the season there was some little ups and downs."
Biaggi, a character who always draws comment and attention, also spoke of whether he will defend his title or not on Sunday night at Magny-Cours. "So, next year is another year but what is important now is to think about what we did to celebrate with the team, the people who make this happen," said Max, "I think next week - because I need five or six days to stay home and get back to the family and decide what to do. So, no decision now about 2013."
