In his earlier days Max seemed a different person. He was always determined, but he was happier and had a confidence/cockiness about him. No doubt this was based on results:
When Max stepped up to the 500 class in 1998, he'd just won the last four 250cc world championships--and had also won the last one on a Honda instead of Aprillia, just to prove it wasn't the bike (does that sound familiar?
). His FIRST race on a 500 he takes pole, sets the fastest lap and wins the race comfortably. He was having a great rookie season, pushing Doohan for the title, then he got black flagged at Catalunya...
[A rider or two had crashed out at the first corner. On the next lap around Biaggi and Barros overtook another rider under yellow flags (although this was disputed afterwards it looked pretty clear to me on TV at the time). They were both given 10 second stop go penalties. Barros duly came in and took his penalty. Biaggi ignored his and was consequently disqualified even though he 'won' the race (Doohan, knowing about the black flag, just followed him home and took the win; he won the next two races after that as well to retain the championship).]
It seems to me that Biaggi was never the same after that. He lost a lot of respect in the paddock for ignoring the penalty--warranted or not--and especially the black flag. Instead of staying with Honda and Kanemoto he went to Yamaha for the next four years, and soon after another happy, confident Italian had also risen through the ranks by then and, well, we all know how that turned out.
The press (most of them) tend to focus on whatever is easiest to write about. In an earlier thread people were talking about Rossi getting so much coverage (perhaps at the expense of other deseving riders). But Rossi's personality and brilliance are easy things to focus on. That's why he gets the column inches.
As for the Rossi vs. Biaggi stuff, it's just gold for journalists. Their earlier careers were remarkably similar--they were dominant in the lower classes and made an immediate impact in the 500s. And now that was one winning, happy and easy to talk to, and the other was struggling (relatively), petulant and often complaining no doubt the stories just wrote themselves. By the end of his time in MotoGP Biaggi was a shadow of his former self. It was easy to forget his earlier achievements and just focus on that fact that Rossi had dominated him completely. Biaggi's attitude certainly didn't help either.
I can see him doing a Kocinski (another rider with a similar history and disposition) and winning a SBK championship in 2007 or 2008; he has the talent. But equally it could all end in tears before the halfway mark next year!
