World Superbike racer Max Biaggi, a four-time race winner this season and currently second in the championship title chase on the Aprilia Alitalia RSV4 Factory, says at the upcoming round at Miller Motorsports Park, the fast, flowing track will highlight the Italian bike’s strengths. Biaggi, who has a home in Southern California, made an appearance Saturday at the Dainese D-Store in Costa Mesa, California, where he took questions from the approximately 250 people in attendance. After speaking to the crowd for nearly an hour, and then signing autographs for at least another 90 minutes, Biaggi took a few moments to speak with Roadracing World about the upcoming round at Miller and the state of affairs in the HANNspree FIM World Superbike series. After a fairly dismal year on 2008 aboard a customer Ducati, Biaggi’s career and his enthusiasm for the sport seemed to outsiders to be reborn when he joined the factory Aprilia team to ride its new V-4. Rejoining the team with which he had achieved so much success early in his career, on a brand-new motorcycle, and with the full resources of Aprilia Racing behind him, Biaggi not only arrested what appeared to be the typical slow racer slide into non-competitiveness and retirement, but turned it 180 degrees. “In 2008, during the season, I had one broken arm, one broken hand. My season was bad from the beginning. For sure I was unlucky,” Biaggi said. “Back to the Aprilia is back to enjoying the racing. “I have to say that starting in 2009, the year one with this project, was very young and new, it was tough time first year but it was still capable to win a race and nine podiums. It was very good result for year one of this new baby,” Biaggi said. “Then, certainly in 2010, I have to say it is amazing. We already score four wins, two doubles. Our bike is really pretty good on the fast track but still on the short track we are a little bit not performing the way we like to, because our machine is more born for fast tracks.” At Monza, where Biaggi won both races–as he did at Portimao earlier this season–it was easy to see that the Aprilia was fast, but not always the most comfortable-looking machine to ride. “It’s very technical machine, and the chassis is, let’s say, the son of a 250 race machine,” Biaggi said. “She’s a very precise bike, very light, and easy to change directions. That’s helped on the fast tracks. But on the slow ones, I will not say weakness, but for sure there is some other manufacturers, some other bikes, that are better than us. “At Monza, through Ascari, it’s wobbling, it’s wobbling a lot. But even if our bike was at that kind of track wobbling a little bit, I was capable to win. The Aprilia RSV4, plus Max Biaggi, at that track was the best one. “And then it was one of my best days it was the Italian Grand Prix, there were 100,000 people, and the president, the owner of our manufacturer was there. To share the podium with him was simply the best moment.” Compared to the 2009 RSV4, the 2010 version fills in some of the weak points from last season, Biaggi said. “The engine has become stronger, a little bit more torque, and since then we have improved our suspension,” Biaggi said. “We have swapped to 2010 Ohlins a big change compared to 2009. It gives us some better steering into the turns. And then, we always try to work with the software, with the electronics.” Last year’s results at Miller were the result of a tough qualifying session that left Biaggi 16th and last in Superpole and with a fourth-row grid position. Under those circumstances, fourth and sixth should hint at the Biaggi/Aprilia potential for this year, he says. “Last year for sure was a difficult moment. We had the problem in qualifying and we had to start from the fourth row. But I know that track can suit our bike,” Biaggi said. “In this race, everyone is using very hard compound tire because the tarmac is very aggressive. And it works good for us. I think the results some fast corners, some slow sections but overall I think it can suit us.” Biaggi says that experience in road racing motorcycles is a big part of the difference between the results of the Aprilia RSV4 and the BMW S1000RR. Both were brand-new bikes for the beginning of 2009, but the Aprilia has five wins while BMW has exactly one podium finish. “You can read just simple. Aprilia their job, at Aprilia Racing is to do a race. The section that is Aprilia Racing there are all these people with a history of racing, they come from racing, they do racing. And, uh, BMW is just all brand new. There is no history,” Biaggi said. “Aprilia more or less knows the knowledge in four-stroke, they don’t have so much knowledge but they still have people and passion and background about racing. Basically, if you pick the right people, and put them all together, you can have something.” World Superbike organizers just announced a weight reduction for the Ducatis, beginning at the Miller round. Biaggi isn’t convinced that the factory Xerox Ducatis seem uncompetitive because of their weight. “I think the Ducati is as strong as last year. I am convinced that if another guy was riding that bike, they could be in the top three, top two position all the time. Why I say that is because it has been proven by Carlos Checa, who is riding privateer Ducati it is not factory, it has less potential. But he’s still third in the championship. From these guys to the factory ones, there for sure is five to 10 horsepower difference,” Biaggi said. “So Carlos proven is good rider and very well motivated, but the other two looks like some confusion inside the team. There must be something. I don’t want to be the one who is who says but for sure there is something that is not working as always in that team.” Life is different for Biaggi now that he is once again on a factory bike. It’s the difference between thinking you have the equipment and knowledge to win and knowing that you do because you’ve done it. “For sure to be on the factory team is always help. It’s not the magic touch, but it can help you,” Biaggi said. “With a factory bike and factory team, they know how to move things around, they have experience from the year before, and before you maybe they have a rider who just won the title they know how to lead, you know?”