Courtesy of Aprilia

On the first day of practice at the Brno track work is mostly done on the set-up of the Factory RSV4. Max Biaggi ends in fifth and says that he is confident for the qualifications tomorrow.

With two first places to defend, the Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team worked hard on the first day of practice at Brno. A great desire to do well for the rankingleader, Max Biaggi, and a new track for team mate Leon Camier demand maximum effort in determining the set-ups.
The RSV4 Factory which Max and Leon ride on the track has evolved quite a bit compared to last year, when it was Biaggi who rode the Aprilia Superbike to the top step of the podium for the first time.

2'00.174 is the best time for Corsair, Max Biaggi, while Leon Camier ended the first day with 2'00.745.

Max has clear ideas: "Compared to last year the bike is more edgy, it has quicker reactions, so on a track which is ridden like this one is, we'll have some trouble coming out of the turns strong. We need to perfect the set-up we've been using for a lot of recent races, working above all on the balancing of the RSV4 in order to better manage the grip and long distance. The tyres aren't a problem, I've tried different ones in order to judge the bike's reactions well. I like to race at Brno, we have identified the points we need to work on, so tomorrow we'll see if our intuitions are correct".

This morning we started with a new tyre which didn't give me any feeling – the words of Leon Camier - just at the most important moment for me, when went for the first time on a track I had never ridden on before. Things got gradually better, the track is very wide and the difference can be made by setting up the trajectories well in the guided sections. The gaps from third place on are really minimal, it won't take much at all to close in on the best times. We need to work above all on the setting for the slower turns and we need to interpret the track well. I'm certain we can do well".

Max Biaggi will start from the front row in the two races tomorrow at the Brno circuit. It will be a heated Sunday, but Aprilia Alitalia Racing team and its rider are ready to defend their first place ranking.

A very tight Superpole closed out the Saturday qualifiers on the Brno track. The hard work done over the last two days by the Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team allowed Max Biaggi to take second place on the grid, surpassed only by a spectacular lap ridden by "specialist" Crutchlow.

The Corsair went through the procedure of the first two pole sessions with his usual, relentless determination. In Superpole 3 he stopped the clock at 1'58.743 which earned him second place on the grid, in spite of the scorching asphalt which greatly reduced grip compared to last year. This is a situation which we will also encounter tomorrow, especially in the second race. In any case, Max is confident with the set-up which has been chosen for his Aprilia RSV4 Factory.

The English Aprilia Alitalia Racing colours bearer, reigning British Superbike champion Leon Camier, continues his apprenticeship on the difficult Czech track while showing encouraging improvements. His thirteenth place is less than 3 tenths from the top eight with a time of 1'59.841. He will have a chance to improve even more in the two races which await him tomorrow.

"I'm happy with the starting position. The front row is always an encouraging result – confirms Max Biaggi – in spite of the fact that the high temperatures hurt us a little bit coming out of the medium-slow turns. With the hard work we did yesterday and this morning we were able to obtain good balance. The bike has consistently improved in spite of some small problems we had in the first practice on Friday. Tomorrow should be fun, there are quite a few of us in the game and we'll need to have eyes in the back of our helmets! Anyway, I'm keen to do well here at Brno, both for our two first place standings and for the particular feeling that I have with this magnificent track".

Leon Camier is well aware of what awaits him tomorrow at the start: "We've sorted the situation after having struggled to find the most satisfactory set-up. There is still work to do, that much is clear, both on the bike and on my interpretation of the track. After the changes we made today grip has improved a lot. We'll try to improve on some details tomorrow and prepare as best we can for the two races. It isn’t impossible to make a comeback here. The important thing is to stay focused on the goal and... give it everything we've got!".

At Brno Max takes his ninth victory in the 2010 World SBK championship: a victory in race 2 which launches him 68 points out front of the closest competitor. A capital performance for the Corsair and the Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team.

After his second place in race 1, Max Biaggi takes back the keys to the Brno circuit with an unrepeatable show. The good start was just a prelude to a monologue: from the sixth lap on, after overtaking Rea, Max Biaggi set an infernal pace which the followers just couldn't match.  The 4.6 second final gap tell the whole story of Max's devastating supremacy.

The Corsair's consistency was also impressive, with points earned in all eighteen rounds with nine victories including the one today.

A good performance for team mate Leon Camier as well, finally comfortable on the Czech track after a weekend of searching for the right feeling. He finished in eighth place and is now eagerly awaiting the race on his home turf in Silverstone.

The fifth victory in the last six races for Max Biaggi takes him to 352 points, 68 in front of Haslam, while Aprilia solidifies its lead in the manufacturer rankings with 53 points over Suzuki and 82 over Ducati.

"After the second place in race 1 I was satisfied anyway – comments Max Biaggi – even if, to be honest, I expected the maximum on this track. And so it was in the second race: we made some changes to the rear suspension and the gearbox which, as it turns out, worked well. After being behind Rea for a while, I realised that I was faster and I overtook him. From there on, I just pushed it to the limit without thinking about tyre wear and the track proved me right. I want to thank my team. The guys support me and believe in my indications, and this is confirmed by our results. There are still a lot of points at stake, so I won't look back and I'll continue to stay focused race after race. That is the winning philosophy."

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