Biaggi: With stability Canet can fight for title
Max Biaggi believes his squad and KTM’s 2019 Moto3 machine can aid Spaniard Aron Canet’s quest to fight for the title in Max Racing’s debut year in the world championship.
Max Biaggi has described his team’s arrival in the Moto3 world championship as “a kind of pure adrenaline” and feels, if he can provide “some regularity, some stability,” new rider Aron Canet can piece together a title challenge.
The six-time world championship returned to competitive racing in the capacity of team owner of Max Racing in 2017. After brief spells in both the Italian CIV Moto3 series and the FIM Junior world championship, the squad steps up to the world stage in 2019.
Taking the grid spot of Peter Oettl’s Schedl Racing team, Max Racing will feature Biaggi’s crew, assembled at the tail end of 2016, as well as Oettl as team manager.
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The Roman, who won four consecutive 250cc world titles in the 90s, will combine his team owner position with the duties that come with being Aprilia’s ambassador.
And with KTM’s 2019 Moto3 machine, Biaggi believes Canet can be a major contender if the circumstances are right. First his squad must provide the environment for the three-time race winner to thrive.
“I am excited,” Biaggi told Crash.net, “because when we were in the smaller championship we had dreams of going to the bigger one. Finally in a few months we will start testing for this year. It’s a kind of pure adrenaline.
“Of course, the rider is good but we need to give him now the good structure, the good package to make him perform in a high level. I hope that this team with this rider can be the news for next year, but you never know. I don’t want to say something that creates high expectation, which is difficult to manage.
“I guess Canet is a good rider and I see this year his performance going a little bit up and down. If we’re able to give him some regularity, some stability, he can be the one who can fight for the championship.”
On his position within the structure, Biaggi explained: “My main role is to be with Aprilia as ambassador. That’s why I’m not joining them directly, because my priority is to be with Aprilia to do this kind of job.
“The other one is like a team owner, I put my structure with my people and, let’s say, the economic side is coming from me. But I don’t have to be 100 percent in the team when we are racing. It’s kind of what Rossi does, or other teams.”
The move to the world championship was only possibly after Hervé Poncharal signed Philipp Oettl for Tech 3’s assault on the Moto2 category for 2019. That left his father Peter’s team in need of a rider, and in need of fresh funding.
“I think it was the right move to come to the bigger championship. We were looking for a good opportunity with the riders. In the small class if the rider is not good enough then the team doesn’t look good.
“We knew Canet was going to change team. So we worked on trying to take him and then I asked Peter to join this project. Now we start 2019, but who knows, maybe it can be for a long time. I need also an operator guy, like a guy who is here and can put the team together.
“Peter is kind of the team manager. I asked him if he wanted to do this and he said, ‘Yeah, it’s what I’m doing with my son.’ So I thought, ‘Let’s make one team with one rider.’”
