Max Biaggi defies time: on an RSV4 X, just a few seconds off the MotoGP elite

Max Biaggi, ageless talent: at 55, on a road-legal bike, he laps just a few seconds off the MotoGP machines of the future!

He came just for fun, yet still put on a show. Max Biaggi, the 55-year-old star of bygone MotoGP and World Superbike eras, shared the track with the MotoGP 850cc bikes during a private test in Barcelona. The Corsair took the opportunity to enjoy himself aboard an Aprilia RSV4 X, a track-only Superbike with MotoGP-level electronics and aerodynamics, produced in a limited edition. The stopwatch is clear: over 123 laps completed in two days, he set a best time about four and a half seconds off the future of the premier class. Some riders really don’t age like the rest...

As reported by our colleagues at Paddock-GP, these tests at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya were dedicated to the future of MotoGP. Manufacturers are working tirelessly on the 2027 technological revolution with their 850cc prototypes equipped with future Pirelli tires. Ducati sent Nicolò Bulega, KTM was on track with Dani Pedrosa, Honda fielded Takaaki Nakagami, and Aprilia the tireless Lorenzo Savadori to continue developing the bikes that will write MotoGP’s next chapter. But among all these official prototypes, Max Biaggi appeared—after a brilliant world championship career, he still has the urge to go fast, really fast.

Beyond the stopwatch, it’s remarkable to see Max Biaggi’s unchanged “hunger for speed” in a MotoGP paddock with an ever-lower average age, where a 33-year-old like Marc Marquez already seems “old.” Meanwhile, a 55-year-old on a road-legal bike is lapping just seconds off the world’s elite. While some think about retirement, the Corsair—four-time 250cc world champion and double World Superbike champion—keeps pushing truly hard. Pure talent and class don’t vanish with age.

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