There was talk of physical violence, even of a fight. But Max Biaggi clarified for the first time in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com what happened between Rossi and him in Barcelona 2001.
The events that caused excitement and headlines after the 2001 Catalunya GP have remained an unsolved mystery. Because Max Biaggi lost there on the Marlboro works Yamaha to his arch rival and Honda star Valentino Rossi in 2001 in the 500 cc race by 2.5 seconds. After the award ceremony, Max Biaggi appeared with a small, bloody cut below his eye for an interview with the journalists.
Word then spread that there had been a war of words on the narrow spiral staircase from the media center up to the awards ceremony platform and Rossi had punched his Italian adversary and arch-rival Max Biaggi in the face during the altercation. That’s why there was the bloody spot on the face of the Roman opponent, whom they called “Grande Max” because he had won four 250cc world titles and also his first-ever 500cc world championship race at Suzuka in 1998 at the Kanemoto Honda.
Max Biaggi now acts as an ambassador for Aprilia, for which he has won three 250cc World Championship titles as well as the Superbike World Championship in 2010 and 2012. He also owns and runs the Sterilgarda Max Racing team together with Peter Öttl in the Moto3, which won the Moto3 World Championship round in Assen on June 26 with Ayumu Sasaki and also celebrated a GP win each in 2020 at Misano and 2021 at Silverstone – with Romano Fenati.
In Assen, in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com, Max Biaggi described the true background to the events, which were reported by the media as a brawl between two GP stars who were very much at odds with each other, because 21 years ago neither Rossi nor Biaggi wanted to tell exact details about it.
“I was bitten by a mosquito,” Max Biaggi swindled at the time with a broad grin on his face.
The truth is different.
Max Biaggi was surprised after the Catalunya GP in 2001 because Rossi’s team spread out with four instead of the allowed two people in the parc fermé. “Normally, only the driver and two mechanics were allowed there,” said Max Biaggi when asked by SPEEDWEEK.com. “But Rossi also had his manager Gibo Badioli and Honda’s Carlo Fiorani with him at parc fermé. That wasn’t allowed by the regulations. None of the officials said anything against it. As we then climbed the narrow spiral staircase to the awards ceremony platform, Badioli was wearing Rossi’s helmet, the visor was open and the edge cut my face. That’s why I angrily said to Badioli: ‘You shouldn’t even be here! Why do four of you have to go to the award ceremony? Even in the parce fermé there were already two people too many of you.’»