| Monday, 27 September 2010 11:59 |    |
Max Biaggi became the 2010 World SBK champion at the end of a difficult and exciting weekend on the Imola track. With his fifth title after four consecutive world championships, from 1994 to 1997 in the 250 class, Biaggi becomes the first Italian World Superbike champion. In the manufacturer standings Aprilia (433 points) is 41 points ahead of Ducati (392), so nine points in France will be enough for the Veneto-based team to take the manufacturer championship. "This is a grand day - commented an exhausted but happy Biaggi in the end - a day which I have greatly desired. I've often felt in past years like I hadn't been placed in the proper conditions to be able to express my worth and to achieve the results that I know I deserve. This is one of the reasons that, at a certain point in my career, I chose this world, the SBK championship, and this is why I wanted to surround myself with the right people for this adventure - because racing isn't just about speed, tyres and an engine. It is also about joy and having fun and with these guys, with this team, I feel at home. I want to thank everyone: my team, Aprilia, Piaggio Group, the chairman. It has not been an easy season. Many riders have won races and if they had been just a bit more consistent, they would have been able to be more troublesome for us. The greatest moments were the double victories at Monza and Misano. It is something very special to win in front of my fans. But it isn't over yet - there is still one goal left - to ride my RSV4 to the manufacturer title. We'll talk again in a week and it would be truly fantastic to close out this wonderful season with another championship".
Roberto Colaninno, chairman and CEO of the Piaggio Group (which Aprilia is part of) was in the pits to experience the triumph of his team and rider and had this to say: "Today we achieved an extraordinary result which takes place in the second year of Aprilia's participation in World Superbike and, once again, confirms the technical excellence of the Noale Racing Division as well as the Piaggio Group in the two-wheel worldwide scene. It would be impossible to imagine anything better on a day like today. We won the World Superbike Championship on an Italian track, with an Italian bike, an Italian rider and a sponsor - Alitalia - which takes Italy all over the world. This has never before happened in Superbike history and this makes all of us that much more proud".
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