Aprilia is either confident or cocky, because according to MCN, the Italian manufacturer’s racing department has halted development on the 2010 World Superbike spec RSV4 Factory race bike. Comfortable with Max Biaggi’s 58 point lead over Leon Haslam and his Alstare Suzuki, Aprilia wants Biaggi to focus on racing with his current setup, rather than risk having a prototype part breaking, and costing the team and Biaggi the World Superbike Championship.
This news certainly must have Haslam chopping at the bit, as the British rider has been pleading with Suzuki to invest more heavily in its WSBK racing efforts. Stating that the Alstare team has had to develop the WSBK GSX-R itself, Haslam believes that he could have caught Biaggi in the Championship points standings earlier in the season if the Japanese manufacturer would get on board with Alstare’s racing program.
However with only two races left on the calendar, and thus only four scoring opportunities, it would take a disaster of a weekend at this point to stop Aprilia from clinching the WSBK title. For Haslam, any help at this point from Suzuki might be too little too late, but as we saw last season, anything can happen on race day. Expect to see Biaggi holding back and riding cautious to maintain his field position for the next two race weekends, while Leon prays for a miracle.
Source: MCN; Photo: Aprilia
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