Open letter to Max Biaggi fans and Superbike enthusiasts
Please dedicate two minutes of your attention to this letter of mine, with which I would like to explain to you the events that occurred in Monza during the weekend of May 8th. First of all, Monza is a particular track, where Superbike must coexist with a very important event like Formula 1. It is therefore not possible to have the escape routes of the gravel variants, because this solution is not very popular in car racing. The only exception is the Ascari variant.
As it is easy to imagine, if a driver makes a mistake entering the Ascari and ends up in the gravel, he either falls or really wastes a lot of time getting back onto the track, so it was not necessary to take any particular measures for this variant. The situation is different for the first variant and the Roggia variant, which have asphalt escape routes. For three years now in Monza, white funnel-shaped lines have been drawn in the escape routes of these two variants which end with a 'road' about one meter wide which, if used, forces the pilots to slow down and also to return to track outside the natural trajectory of those who did the variant regularly. The FIM approval of the track expressly excludes the presence of a straw bale barrier/chicane in the escape routes.
The Race Direction, of which I am a member together with Igor Eškinja and Giulio Bardi, decided for this reason to call the drivers together on Thursday afternoon for an extraordinary briefing in which to explain to everyone (those who had already raced in Monza and those who were tackling the circuit for the first time) the correct way to resume the route in the event of an error in these two variants.
The briefing lasted almost an hour. It was reiterated to the pilots, with the help of two blow-ups of the variants hanging on the walls of the briefing room, that in the event of an error they would have to strictly use this "funnel" route to get back onto the track, without exceptions, under penalty of a ride-through . We also explained that they should not have taken advantage of this "cut", neither in terms of lap time nor in terms of race position and that in the latter case, by raising their arm, they would have to give back the position to the drivers who had been involuntarily overtaken.
Many riders asked specific questions and we reiterated, almost to the point of becoming pedantic, that any rider who returned to the track without following the path drawn on the asphalt would be punished with a ride-through, the only sanction provided for by the FIM regulations for these infringements .
Biaggi was not present at the briefing, due to his private commitments, but Francesco Guidotti, Aprilia Team Manager, was there to represent him. In all the races of the weekend we always used the same yardstick with all the riders who made the cut in all the categories. These are the facts. I probably won't have convinced you, but at least I explained clearly and honestly how things went.
I would like to conclude on a personal note. In life, sometimes consistency and correctness force you to make difficult and painful decisions. For me Max is not only a great champion, as well as a very intelligent and sensitive boy. He is above all a friend, with whom I have shared many moments, pleasant but also difficult, both on and off the circuit. I'll let you imagine how difficult it was for me, together with the other members of the Race Direction, to make this decision.
Thanks for the attention.
Paolo ciabatti
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I believe that the engineer. Paolo Ciabatti of Infront and former Ducati, wrote his letter before 14pm (approximately) on Sunday 15 May 15.
Mutatis mutandis (bike and championship), he must have had a thrill when Simoncelli was given a "drive through", the same punishment that was given to Biaggi in Monza.
Same punishment but very different sins or am I wrong? or even in this case did the Regulation provide that only "drive through" could be imposed?
Maybe... the rules are the rules... but Guidotti will certainly have told Biaggi how to approach the escape route. If the latter didn't do it, he certainly didn't do it on purpose, because however eccentric Biaggi may be, he respects the rules. I think the most important thing is that Biaggi lost 1 second on purpose to make up for the mistake (a rider who cuts the chicane never loses all this time by putting himself in his previous position). I think that by virtue of this, and to honor a sport that is based on competition, destroying a racing masterpiece over a little street seems terribly unsportsmanlike to me.
You really don't want to understand... if those are the rules, you take note of them and respect them. not penalizing Biaggi would have created first of all a very dangerous precedent, and secondly a series of ENDLESS controversies between the race direction and the teams, who RIGHTLY would have had a lot to say about the pardon in favor of Biaggi.
guys, it's like when a driver at the start gets the start wrong. that is, he leaves before the green light... maybe he even wastes time, because to make up for it he messes up and instead of gaining he loses positions. if you don't know, the penalty to be inflicted is the ONLY ride through. have you ever seen someone complain? yet, by starting early you often not only gain nothing, but often you also waste time. Do you think it's a fair punishment, proportional to the error? No it is not. but the regulation is THISOOOO, whoever MAKES WRONG pays!!
the truth is that many of his fans don't admit his defeat, because they don't know how to lose. and the most worrying and annoying thing is that Biaggi fuels these "mess", passing himself off as the victim of the "system". it would be enough for him to admit his faults, to tell the truth (that is, that he made a mistake and it was RIGHT that he was punished) and no one would have had anything to say.
and please adriano, don't bring up the events of the simoncelli world championship, as you too know that they have nothing to do with it...
anyway, ciabatti's letter is rather useless to me... not because it is wrong, but because it repeats things that we all already know, and it is sad to see that someone is so blinded that he cannot see them.
well mauro you're wrong, biaggi admitted he was wrong. The only thing is that he is rightly disappointed because for a venial sin he took a huge beating. That's all.
well done Ciabatti.
I would like to add, let's assume that the director had not made Max apply the rule after he had repeated it several times during the briefing.
He would have been pointed out as an uncredible biased person, someone who applies the rules ONLY if the pilots are NOT Italian.
It would have been a media boomerang.
sorry Max but this time too you hit a shit..
hi enzo
If Max had been called Valentino nothing would have happened. I've seen too many over the years...
In fact max is called max and Valentino is Valentino, because he hasn't done even 1% of the shit that max has done.
Greetings to all