Biaggi: "Spies will take the title"

MAX BIAGGI has said that he thinks Ben Spies will win the World Superbike crown this year.

Speaking from his Monaco home, the four-times 250GP World Champion who is currently fifth overall in the championship standings, said: "On the prediction for this year in World Superbike I do not have any doubt at all. Spies has such speed and is so strong that I believe he will take the title this year.

"But there are a lot of stories about him leaving perhaps for a ride in MotoGP. What I would say to him is to study very carefully the technical offers before making a decision to leave WSB. If he is to go to MotoGP then he should do that with the best conditions possible."

Biaggi also talked about the rest of the season in WSB and the next stage of development for the Aprilia RSV4, he said: "Mentally I am very well. We are going to run at four tracks now that I don't dislike, we have tested at two of them but we've had some difficulties there during testing.

"In Portimao we made the first test but it was there that we realised we needed to do a lot of work. In Misano we underwent some changes but still had to find pace but now the motorcycle is not the one we had in Portugal and it has been developed and grown since Misano earlier.

"In Nurburgring or Imola we are going to try a new swingarm link. Before the start of the year we thought we would be about 8th or 10th in the championship so now we are already winners this year because of being better than that target."