trenace
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posted November 30, 2005 12:35 PM
 Edited By: trenace on 30 Nov 2005 15:00
'Kawasaki In Shock Move To Rescue Moody Max's Career'
From MCN:
Kawasaki will read Max Biaggi the riot act if he signs a shock deal to ride for them in 2006, leaving the Italian in no doubt they won't tolerate any of his outbursts.
The Japanese manufacturer is willing to take a huge gamble in saving Biaggi's racing career. In return they want to see an end to the stroppy behavior that has seen Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki all give him a wide berth.
As MCN went to press on Monday, Kawasaki was waiting to see if its final proposal, sent to Biaggi's sponsor Camel on Monday, was to be accepted. Team boss Harald Eckl said that if negotiations reached a successful conclusion this week, he would sit down with the 34-year old Italian for a heart-to-heart.
Eckl told MCN: "If we do come to an agreement I will sit down with Max and give him the message that he must take a different approach than riding for Honda. Max is a very interesting rider and I still rate him as one of the best and would be happy to have him at Kawasaki. We know what problems might occur, but we also know he could deliver good results."
Eckl didn't have to go far to gauge opinion on what a challenge Biaggi can be. Kawasaki's technical director Ichiro Yoda was previously Yamaha's project director when Biaggi was on board, and he has also worked with Firenzo Fanali, who is now at Kawasaki, too.
Eckl admitted he had already spoken to Fanali about Biaggi and said, "He admitted it's not easy working with Max. This is a concern and it's my job to inform Kawasaki about any problems. But I've also told them the history of his performance and riding abilities. We've evaluated all the pluses and the minuses."
A major stumbling block on a deal appears to be Biaggi's wage demands. Camel is so desperate to keep him on the grid that parent company JTI has been dangling 8 million Pounds in front of potential takers for their rider, but it is believed that Biaggi wants to take a 3 million Pound chunk of the budget for himself. Eckl said, "There must be a compromise and I hope that Max understands that we can't offer him conditions like he had at Honda. It looks like Max has requested a large amount of money, but he must understand that this is probably his last chance. We are not using this as a tool to push his price down as we want to pay him what he deserves."
Kawasaki's final proposal would see Biaggi, Shinya Nakano, and Randy dePuniet all run in the factory team, with a green and yellow paint scheme.
Proposals to run Biaggi in a satellite team on his own on a full yellow Camel-branded bike were rejected by Kawasaki.
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Sidebar article:
Nakano: 'I'm not worried by Max'
Current Kawasaki rider Shinya Nakano isn't concerned that Max Biaggi may wreak havoc in his team if the Italian completes his shock move to ride a factory ZX-RR in 2006.
Biaggi has a reputation for disrupting teams he has ridden for in the past, but Nakano reckons the Italian could even be a positive influence if he becomes his team-mate.
Nakano said, "It would be interesting to have Max riding for Kawasaki because maybe I can learn a lot from him. No matter what, Max is still a very fast rider with a lot of experience. I have heard the stores about him in the paddock, but I've always had a good relationship with him. Kawasaki will listen to what he wants and that might benefit us."
  
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beansbaxter
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posted November 30, 2005 05:12 PM
And the comedy continues
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human
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posted December 01, 2005 12:21 AM
when do we find out ? deadline ? or wait till Jan 23rd ?
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eastbaydave
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posted December 01, 2005 07:15 AM
I sure hope not. We all know by mid-season if he's not doing well, he will be blaming the bike, crew, engine, weather, crotch-itch, etc., etc., etc.
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tinhead
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posted December 02, 2005 06:22 PM
Hiring Max in MotoGP may do some good for Kaw's program there, a 50-50 shot at best.
 Will Max REALLY be able to keep his mouth shut if/ when Nakano beats him? There's much potential for great comedy there.
Will Max, and Camel's millions of dollars, divert attention from Kaw's 'return' to factory Superbike racing? I have concern that Max and Camel will suck the life out of the rest of Kaw's racing plans.
 Maybe Kaw will take Max so they have a premade excuse when they remain backmarkers in Superbike racing at the World and National series level.
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Shortcircuit
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posted December 07, 2005 10:34 AM
Biaggi booted by Bridgestone
Latest I have heard is that Kawasaki have dropped the proposed deal with Biaggi due to Biaggi's contractual silliness with Bridgestone.
No other detail or source at the moment
Kawasaki business as before :-)
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Previous: '84 Z1100R (Lime Green), '88 GPZ1000RX
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Evander
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posted December 07, 2005 10:54 AM
WEDNESDAY 7TH DECEMBER 2005
Max Biaggi's chances of a 2006 Kawasaki MotoGP ride are reported to have ended after the team's tyre supplier, Bridgestone, refused to support any additional riders.
The Roman, left jobless after being replaced by Dani Pedrosa at Repsol Honda and then prevented by HRC from joining any other RCV running outfit, had nevertheless managed to maintain Camel backing - which in turn looked set to secure him a third seat at Kawasaki, alongside Shinya Nakano and Randy de Puniet.
Biaggi was hoping to announce his new ride at the Bologna Motor Show later this week, but Britain's Motor Cycle News states that - while Kawasaki, Camel and Biaggi had all but agreed a deal - Bridgestone has now sunk the third ZX-RR project after refusing to supply the extra tyres needed.
"The problem is the tyre situation from Bridgestone," Kawasaki team manager Harald Eckl told MCN. "They have already made their plans for 2006 and weren't willing to change to enable us to run a third bike for Biaggi. The negotiations had been going well and, to be honest, I have to admit that I did not consider the tyres would be the problem.
"I was very enthusiastic to have Max with Kawasaki, despite all the potential problems we faced. I had a lot of discussions with Max and I had a feeling we could have made it work... Max is still one of the world's best riders and he is still a big name. He could have really helped Kawasaki and accelerated development of our bike."
Eckl added that Biaggi was "incredibly upset" when he was told of Bridgestone's refusal - which in turn rules out any chance of a third Suzuki ride. With former employer Yamaha having already ruled out re-signing Biaggi, d'Antin Ducati, WCM and Team Roberts are the only teams with 2006 seats still potentially available for the 13-times 500cc/MotoGP winner.
"When I spoke to him it was obvious to me that Max was very disappointed," added Eckl. "I think it finally dawned on him just how serious his situation has become. He just kept telling me that he couldn't believe it. I had to tell him that it is now virtually impossible to find a solution that would let him ride for us in 2006. I don't think he ever considered the fact that we wouldn't find a solution."
Should Biaggi indeed be forced to retire from grand prix racing, Camel is expected to return to the Honda Pons team as title sponsor for its new rider line-up of Casey Stoner and Carlos Checa.
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It's not the bike, it's the rider.
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Shortcircuit
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posted December 10, 2005 01:12 PM
Perhaps all is not lost or is Max just being hopefull?
From MotoGP website:
After Marco Melandri, it was Max Biaggi's turn to meet the fans at the Bologna Motorshow on Friday afternoon. As the future of the Italian veteran is still unsure and surrounded by speculation, his appearance at the show was eagerly awaited... but didn't learn much to his fans.
Biaggi indicated that he could join Kawasaki Racing: "Bridgestone confirmed to me that there wouldn't be any problem about getting me some tyres. The team, Kawasaki, is aware of that and so is the sponsor, Camel. So basically I told them I was available, now we'll have to wait and see what happens."
The Italian also talked about his split with Honda and his complicated relationship with the Japanese factory during last season. And he made clear that he was determined to race next year, asking to his fans: "Would you really like to see Max Biaggi riding as a test-rider?"
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Current '03 GPZ500S, '95 GPZ1100S
Previous: '84 Z1100R (Lime Green), '88 GPZ1000RX
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trenace
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posted December 10, 2005 02:36 PM
I don't know... there seem to be no other sources backing that up. Hopefully it is true.
On the other hand, Biaggi could understandably not have wanted to create the total bummer at this show with his fans of certifying what really happened, and I get the impression he's more the type to in at least some cases tell the story that sounds better than necessarily how it really is.
Especially in person, it would be very hard to explain what Bridgestone did and have people understand "that makes sense" because basically it's totally fucked that they refused to make more tires, though they confirmed it themselves and further said they'd refused Tamada too (though at least Tamada still has other tires to ride) so this confirms they really aren't serious enough about MotoGP to make tires for top riders (Tamada had done pretty well last year.)
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Shortcircuit
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posted December 11, 2005 12:37 AM
The MotoGP site is as reliable as any, but the comments made seem very deliberately vague.
http://www.motogp.com/en/motogp/news_info/news_info_15724_1.htm?menu=home
As you say Bridgestone will do themselves more harm than good not backing the Max deal.
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Current '03 GPZ500S, '95 GPZ1100S
Previous: '84 Z1100R (Lime Green), '88 GPZ1000RX
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trenace
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posted December 11, 2005 12:17 PM
Edited By: trenace on 11 Dec 2005 12:20
Oh, I didn't mean to imply the MotoGP site isn't reliable by saying "no other sources backing that up," they would be fine as a single source if they presented the information unambiguously: what I meant was that Biaggi himself was the single source for the article and that single account, as you say, was ambiguous.
There's now a second report, though again Biaggi is the only source, but this time it's less ambiguous so perhaps there is something to it. Still no confirmation from Kawasaki or Bridgestone, but a statement that a signing is expected this weekend, so that is something that either will prove true or not quite soon:
Biaggi: Kawa deal still on
The Italian was hoping to announce the deal to his fans at the Bologna Motor Show on Thursday before Kawasaki boss Harald Eckl called him to say that it was off due to Bridgestone's refusal two supply him with tyres, saying that they had already decided on their quota for 2006.
However, Biaggi told his fans that Bridgestone had now agreed to supply him and that the deal is set to be signed this weekend. "Bridgestone confirmed to me that there wouldn't be any problem about getting me some tyres," he confirmed.
"The team, Kawasaki, is aware of that and so is the sponsor, Camel," he added. "So basically I told them I was available, now we'll have to wait and see what happens."
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Shortcircuit
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posted December 11, 2005 12:32 PM
Just been on Eurosport site myself. The source i.e. Max may be overly optimistic but two reliable sites repeating the story adds some weight.
It's a case of will they or won't they supply the tyres??????????
All this intrigue continues to keep Max in the spotlight.....
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Current '03 GPZ500S, '95 GPZ1100S
Previous: '84 Z1100R (Lime Green), '88 GPZ1000RX
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beansbaxter
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posted December 12, 2005 02:09 PM
Edited By: beansbaxter on 12 Dec 2005 14:10
http://www.crash.net/uk/en/news_view.asp?cid=6&nid=123181
Max Biaggi has claimed that Bridgestone will supply him with tyres, should Kawasaki and Camel finalise a deal for the Roman to ride a third factory ZX-RR in the 2006 MotoGP World Championship.
Last week, Bridgestone appeared to end any chance of the deal when Motor Cycle News reported that the Japanese company would support the same number of machines as in 2005 - and had refused to supply any additional riders.
With Makoto Tamada's request for a return to Bridgestone rubber reportedly turned down for that very reason, it appeared far from a hollow threat - with Kawasaki team manager Harald Eckl confirming that a Biaggi deal was "virtually impossible" as a result of the tyre situation.
However, speaking at the Bologna Motor Show, Biaggi claimed that Bridgestone had told him that tyre supply was not a problem - and he made clear that both Kawasaki and Camel know this... putting pressure back on the two companies to reach an agreement.
"Bridgestone confirmed to me that there wouldn't be any problem about getting me some tyres," the official MotoGP website reports Biaggi as saying. "The team, Kawasaki, is aware of that and so is the sponsor, Camel. So basically I told them I was available, now we'll have to wait and see what happens."
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D
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posted December 12, 2005 02:11 PM
Linky no workee.
Maxi no workee either (?)
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beansbaxter
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posted December 12, 2005 03:32 PM
the link in my post works.
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shortcircuit
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posted December 13, 2005 12:05 AM
crash.net can be very slowwwwwwwww
you may be timing out
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Previous: '84 Z1100R (Lime Green), '88 GPZ1000RX
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trenace
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posted December 13, 2005 12:15 PM
From Crash.net:
Biaggi 'waiting for an answer'.
Max Biaggi's MotoGP future remains in limbo with the Roman still waiting to here if he will be able to ride a third factory Kawasaki in the 2006 world championship.
At the recent Bologna Motor Show, the former Repsol Honda rider dismissed suggestions that Bridgestone had sunk the deal by refusing to supply the extra tyres needed - but, with several days having passed since then, Max has admitted he's still "waiting for an answer."
"The main question (from the fans at the Bologna Motor Show) was about my future and, as I explained a few days ago, I'm waiting like you for an answer from Camel, Kawasaki, Bridgestone and Dorna," Biaggi wrote on his official website.
"Anyway I want all of you to know that I'm willing to get on the track and do my best, believe me! Unfortunately that's not only up to me... I really hope I can get back to you very soon with some good news."
With the winter MotoGP test ban now underway, Biaggi will have to wait until January 20 before he can ride for any new team.
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swft
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posted December 13, 2005 08:02 PM
This story is like Herpes...Even ignoring it won't help it go away!
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trenace
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posted December 13, 2005 08:26 PM
Well, if we read news of Sito Pons getting the Camel money, that will be the end of this story (probably.)
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trenace
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posted December 13, 2005 08:29 PM
Edited By: trenace on 13 Dec 2005 20:32
Ah, even bringing up Sito Pons does not end the story, not yet anyway, but rather continues it -- from Eurosport posted only 9 hours ago:
Stoner joins LCR in MotoGP
It may seem complicated but the pieces of the jigsaw are slowly but surely dropping in to place.
Sito Pons was holding out for tobacco sponsor Camel to return following Max Biaggi's unsuccessful search to find a mount for next season but, with Casey Stoner now joining Cecchinello in a one-rider team, it can only mean that Biaggi and Camel have finally found a home at Kawasaki. [emphasis added]
Stoner had originally been tipped to step up to MotoGP with Cecchinello's LCR team aboard a Yamaha M1 before Sito Pons came forward with a Honda RCV race offer on the condition that backing is found. With that money not coming, Cecchinello today confirmed that Stoner had rejoined his team.
"Casey contacted me to tell me that he was available and we quickly found an agreement," Cecchinello told motogp.com.
"The new deal will specify that he will race for us, in the MotoGP class, for the two next seasons. We just have to sign the amended contract.
""We have agreed on the terms of the deal with the rider, we just have to sort out a few technical details, which should be quickly addressed," he added.
"Casey is flying today from Australia to sign the new contract."
Cecchinello went on to explain the situation after 2005 when everything was set for the former Grand Prix winner to take Stoner, who rode for Cecchinello's LCR team in 250cc last year, into MotoGP on a Yamaha M1.
"Before the end of the championship, we were clearly looking at a move to the MotoGP class," he began.
"We had the rider, an agreement with Yamaha and a spot on the MotoGP grid.
"What happened is that Sito Pons couldn't contract Max (Biaggi) and made an interesting offer to Stoner," he added. "So we lost our rider and couldn't move forward with the project.
"Two months later, he told us that he was available again. Meantime, he had tested the Honda and was willing to race on this machine, so we talked with HRC to make it possible."
The announcement leaves Sito Pons pondering a one-rider team next season with Carlos Checa and improves Biaggi's chances of taking Camel to Kawasaki next season.
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kawasabi
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posted December 14, 2005 08:11 AM
That Harald Eckl is a classy guy, very professional.
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trenace
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posted December 14, 2005 07:04 PM
Further confirmation that that Camel money is not going to Sito Pons:
Pons team loses Stoner
By: Matthew Birt
December 13, 2005
Casey Stoner will ride a Honda RCV in 2006 - but not for the Sito Pons squad as expected.
Stoner's former Aprilia 250 boss Lucio Cecchinello confirmed late last night that he had secured a deal with HRC to lease one RCV five-cylinder for next season.
And a deal to see him run Stoner is likely to be agreed later this week, with negotiations on-going in Europe.
With Pons unable to secure a sponsorship deal in time to keep the 20-year-old Aussie in his team where he would have partnered Carlos Checa, the Spaniard is now fighting for his MotoGP survival.
Stoner had tested twice for the Pons team, but following Camel's decision to try and find axed HRC rider Max Biaggi a ride, the Spaniard was left in a financial crisis as Camel refused to continue backing the Pons squad,
Twice Pons missed deadlines to secure Stoner's signature, and now he will sign for Cecchinello, who two months ago had failed to secure a deal for Stoner on a Yamaha YZR-M1.
Pons is now hoping to secure enough budget to run Spaniard Checa in a one-man team, but it seems that three of Honda's seven-strong RCV line-up in 2006 will be run as one man outfits.
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Zammy
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posted December 15, 2005 01:58 PM
Green and yaller look good together. just look at Muzzy's logo.
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