MOTOGP: Biaggi backs Lorenzo move

Former MotoGP star Max Biaggi has backed Jorge Lorenzo's decision to switch from Yamaha to Ducati.

Lorenzo's move to Ducati ends a nine-year association with Yamaha that yielded three MotoGP crowns, although he was forced to settle for third in the 2016 standings behind Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi.

The Spaniard started testing with his new team last month, and Biaggi said that his friend's early impressions have been good.

"He's really revved up, sure of himself, and he likes the bike," Biaggi told GPone.com.

"We already spoke about [a move] last year and, in the situation he was in, he's done the right thing. Then Ducati said that they have no excuses with Jorge, which means they're ready to give it their all. They're going to try and make the bike a regular winner."

Meanwhile Biaggi, who retired from full-time racing at the end of 2012, is preparing for the next chapter in his own career as he moves into team ownership with Mahindra. The 45-year-old announced last month that he will field a factory-supported Mahindra team in the Campionato Italiano Velocitá (CIV), and selected races in the FIM CEV Repsol Moto3 Junior World Championship, with the hope of eventually moving into the world championship.

"Last year I was still doing some racing, at 44 [ED: as an Aprilia wildcard in SBK], and after 20 years as a professional rider, I now want to think big and not work with a team but have a team of my own", he said.

"I had an opportunity with Ducati, but I would have had to enter into an already existing situation, with its rules and balance. I prefer to have a team of my own, to be the owner, even if we start out modestly. It is a work in progress, to give young talents a chance, riders who perhaps haven't yet had a break or weren't ready when one came along. I see myself in them".