Max Biaggi faced the end of his GP career in 2005 (Photo: Honda Pro Images)
Trouble In Turkey
Max Biaggi’s Honda factory ride ended as did his GP career as the result of an especially explosive incident in the Repsol Honda garage at the 2005 Turkish Grand Prix.
Whatever it was that Max actually said to Honda race bosses made its way back to HRC HQ in Japan and, as a result, Max was not only fired, he was put on Honda's black list.
Max had already known that he would not be renewed at HRC; he had failed to win races after being signed for the express purpose of beating Rossi. However, he had reached an agreement to ride for Sito Pons in the Camel Honda team. But Honda bosses were so enraged at whatever Max said (only Max and the insulted ones know) that they refused to lease bikes to Pons for Max’s use. As a result Camel pulled out and Team Pons, one of the oldest and most successful teams in 500GP/MotoGP history, facing a serious shortfall, pulled out as well (which also left Carlos Checa without a ride and forced to accept a satellite Honda ride that was, in fact, a Dunlop test team).
I have always suspected there was collusion among the Japanese factories because Biaggi was clearly one of the best riders in the GP paddock and yet there was no offer of a bike from any other team. His relationship with Yamaha had ended on a sour note, however, and there were really no rides available. He then tried to get a Superbike ride with the Alstare Suzuki team, but that also fell through. Was that the 'black hand' of Honda too or was it just that Alstare already had two riders and a problem in getting not the bike but the electronic support from Mitsubishi?
I have been told that the word in Japan was that there were to be no bikes for Max. A Japanese friend and insider said that this kind of thing does not constitute collusion because it is never written down, never even spoken. A kind of nonverbal understanding -- the sort of understanding, it was implied, that could even prevent a Japanese electronics firm from finding the time and resources to provide the Alstare Suzuki team with software and technical support.
