Max Biaggi and his Aprilia team are in trouble again – this time for illegal bike components.
Visordown reports that Biaggi, already in the headlines for his on-track clashes with competitors in defense of his World Superbike title, is in hot water once more, this time over a modified fuel injection system. The modifications were discovered during inspections after Biaggi’s two podium finishes this year.
Superbike rules state the injection system must remain original, including pumps, lines and injectors, yet Biaggi’s system was supposedly found to be different from the Aprilias of racers Leon Camier and Noriyuki Haga. Visordown speculates the modifications to Biaggi’s machine were made to shave off weight or add a tiny horsepower boost.
What’s the fallout from the supposed cheating discovery? Biaggi and the Aprilia factory team won’t lose any points; they’ve simply been warned to remove the parts before the WSB round at Monza – a track where Biaggi and Aprilia dominated last year.
I suspect many WSB team complaintants might be living in glass houses themseleves!
It’s possible Visordown may have jumped the gun on this one. GPone.com has a quote from Aprilia’s technical director claiming the only difference is a date stamp on the pump.
As they correctly point out, Aprilia’s competitors wouldn’t hesitate to lodge a protest were there any actual contravention of the rules. As of yet, no such protest has been filed. Biaggi scored 40 points at Assen, so it’s not like they wouldn’t have an incentive…