Biaggi eyeing history repeat

Biaggi: Searching for first win of the current season at Miller Motorsport Park

Max Biaggi is hoping history repeats itself in this weekend's World Superbike races at Miller Motorsport Park in the United States.

The 39-year-old defending champion picked up a race-victory double at the Utah circuit last year on his way to the title.

Biaggi, who races for Aprilia Alitalia, would dearly love to repeat the feat as he searches for his first win of the current season.

He told the World Superbikes' official website www.worldsbk.com: "I have very good memories of the Miller track.

"The double-win last year took us to the top of the standings and was probably the first important step toward bringing home the title.

"I've always enjoyed racing in the United States. There are a lot of fans and they make their welcome presence known."

The Italian also hailed the track and stressed the importance of a good start to the weekend.

"The track is very technical, with guided sections where it is very important to find the right compromise in the bike's set-up," he said.

"For this reason we need to start off right away on the right foot - from the first practice session to the last race, we need to be one hundred percent focused."

Rea hopeful

Castrol Honda's Jonathan Rea was testing at the track last weekend and will be looking to use his recent experiences to add to his points tally.

The Northern Irishman won the first race in Assen before retiring early on at Monza to leave him fourth in the Rider's Championship Standings, 56 points behind leader Carlos Checa, but Rea is confident the testing will assist his chances of a strong weekend.

"We nominated Miller as our test track this year because last season we really struggled with bike set-up," he said.

"I really enjoy riding here in America but the bumpy nature of the track makes it very difficult to find the optimum settings for the bike.

"My team have pulled out all the stops, though, and we had a lot of new items to test. We are in much better shape now to start the weekend and as always we will do our best."

Australian rider Chris Vermeulen picked up one of his 10 championship points last season for a 15th-placed finish in Utah, but the 28-year-old Kawasaki racer will not be participating this weekend after suffering an elbow injury at the last round in Monza, although he should be ready for the next race at Misano.

"It is disappointing to not race in America but my injuries are still healing. The good thing is they are improving," he said.

"That means I should hopefully come back strong at Misano which is a track I know quite well. I have never ridden at Aragon before so it will be good to get some track time in and learn the track before we go there after Misano."