Max Biaggi raced his Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra GSX-R1000 to third place in the opening World Superbike race at Monza today and was on course for another podium in race two until clashing with another rider.
Exiting the Ascari, Biaggi ran wide, rejoined the track, but touched the Ducati of Troy Bayliss and in the impact, his clutch lever was bent out of position. When he tried to brake for the Parabolica, the clutch didn’t work and he had to stamp on the rear brake to slow down and in so doing ran onto the kerbstones and nearly highsided. The Italian -racing in front of his home fans - made a tremendous recovery, but the leaders had managed to sneak past.
Yukio Kagayama had a frustrating day, finishing sixth in race one after suffering grip problems and then losing ground at the start of the second when a group of riders cut the chicane on the first lap. Once that happened, he tried to regain ground, but the gap was too great and he had to chase the pack, eventually ending up seventh.
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