Another Podium Position for the Aprilia RSV4 Factory The British round of the World Superbike Championship was held last weekend at the Donnington Park Circuit. The 61,000 spectators who sat on the green hills of the English country side were treated to an exhibition of motorcycle racing by Max Biaggi who once again took a podium position on board the Aprilia RSV4 Factory. Biaggi was able to qualify in second position in the final Superpole session with Shinya Nakano placing the second Aprilia RSV4 Factory on fourth position of the grid. For the first time this season both Aprilia RSV4’s qualified on the front row. When the red lights went out it was pole sitter Ben Spies who led into the first corner followed closely by Biaggi and Noriyuki Haga. Biaggi’s Aprilia and Haga’s Ducati where the only motorcycles able to match the Yamaha’s pace and soon the three riders began to break away from the rest of the field, all three circulating at a time just under the circuit record. By the fifth lap Haga could no longer match the pace of the Yamaha and the Aprilia and therefore began to lose ground leaving him to circulate in the lonely third position. Spies and Biaggi continued to push ahead during the final laps and despite Spies’s hardest efforts he was unable to shake Biaggi presence. On the final lap Biaggi tried to overtake Spies through the back of the circuit, but Spies remained dominant. In the second last turn Biaggi’s Aprilia stalled due to the lack of fuel left in the tank but Biaggi was able to restart the Aprilia and finish the race in second position thanks to the nine second gap between himself and Haga in lonely third. Shinya Nakano on the second Aprilia RSV4 Factory finished a respectable sixth place 21:286 seconds behind Spies. The Japanese rider lost some ground at the beginning of the race and fell behind the lead group. Nakano was able to find and maintain a good pace and recover the ground he had lost and found himself battling for fourth position with Leon Haslam and Shayne Byrne, however at their home race Haslam and Byrne were impossible to beat and Nakano finished sixth behind them. "I’m very pleased with the result.” declared Biaggi. “After the difficult practice sessions, we finally found the right tires and balance. We had a great race and we managed to set a pace that was just under the track record. I must compliment Ben because he was able to set an incredible pace. At the last chicane the bike cut out suddenly but fortunately I was able to start it once again and because of the huge lead I had over Haga, I was still able to reach the finish line in second place.” At the commencement of Race Two the sun peaked out from behind the clouds to provide a gorgeous background for the British spectators who were about to witness a race filled with drama. Spies was first off the line and was able to maintain that position for the entire race when he crossed the line six seconds in front of his adversaries. On the first lap Biaggi was in second place while Nakano had a great start and moved into third place behind his team mate and in front of Haslam and Haga. Spies began to pull away and like in the first race of the day, only Biaggi was able to match his pace. Nakano suffered a nasty high side on the third lap and fortunately walked away with no injuries. Aprilia’s bad luck did not stop there, Biaggi’s front tyre lost traction on the fourth lap which resulted in a low sided. Biaggi was able to pick the motorcycle up and re join the race and eventually finish in twentieth position. This consequently handed second position to Haga followed by Haslam and Fabrizio. Haga suffered a frightening high side on the fifth lap and had to be rushed to hospital, therefore it was left to his team mate Fabrizio to fly the Ducati flag by eventually finishing third. “During the second race, I felt the vibrations a lot more.” said Biaggi “It was due to the fact that there was not as much grip on the track in the second race due to the change of conditions, this would also explain why there were so many falls. I started off well and I was able to once again match Spies’ pace, but during the fourth lap I entered the turn the same way I always do and about halfway through, I lost the front tire. I managed to keep the motorcycle running and re enter the race. I am disappointed because I could have had another spot on the podium.” “The result in Race One was good.” said Nakano “I started off much better in Race 2 and I realised that I would be able to match the pace of the leaders. During the third lap, I lost my rear tyre and high sided but luckily I am fine, even though I’m disappointed about how things ended up. On Wednesday we have a test at Brno which will help me improve my feeling and develop the RSV4 for the next round.”