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Category: Superbikes
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FOUR APRILIAS IN Q2 AS A TESTAMENT TO PROGRESS MADE, EVEN ON A TRADITIONALLY DIFFICULT CIRCUIT LIKE THIS ONE
TIME TO WORK ON REDUCING THE GAP AHEAD OF TOMORROW’S GRAND PRIX
Aprilia Racing continues growing, at times substantiated by thrilling results, such as the first and second place finishes a week ago in the Barcelona race (the only MotoGP team to have achieved this result this season), and at times with less flashy but just as significant results.
The Misano circuit, not exactly a favourite for the RS-GP, had Maverick and Aleix finishing the Sprint race on Saturday with a good placement, sixth and eighth respectively.
An even more significant result was seeing all four Aprilias on the track in Q2. Viñales and Fernandez, who had already gone straight through thanks to being in the top ten on Friday, were joined by Espargaró and Oliveira, first and second in the first qualifying session today. At the end of Q2, the two factory riders had taken spots on the second row (Maverick fourth and Aleix sixth), whereas the Cryptodata RNF riders occupied the fourth row in the tenth (Oliveira) and twelfth spots (Fernandez).
In the race, Maverick and Aleix stayed just behind the leaders, but without ever finding what they needed to close the gap, at least with the riders battling for third. Now, taking advantage of the data from the Sprint Race and the riders’ reports, work is underway in the garage to improve the RS-GP machines ahead of tomorrow’s Grand Prix.
Aprilia Racing would like to take a moment today to remember Mike Trimby and express our condolences for his passing. Our most heartfelt and sincere thoughts go out to his family, his loved ones, and IRTA.
ALEIX
“Even though it may seem like a disappointing result, I can actually consider myself satisfied. On an unfavourable track, after yesterday’s difficulties, I was able to finish close to Maverick who rides extremely well here and not far from the podium. Even physically, I felt better than expected. I thought I would wake up in pain, but I can say that I did not have any big problems. We’ll see what we’re able to do in the long race, which is a very different situation from today.”
MAVERICK
“Today, with the soft tyre I did not find the best feeling. The bike moved around a lot. This is something that we need to figure out and work on. Tomorrow things could go differently. In race configuration with the medium tyre, we demonstrated that we can be extremely fast. The Sprint Race was still important to understand how the bike is working and to better prepare for the long race. Being out front from the start will be fundamental.”
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Today’s press release is first and foremost dedicated to Mike Trimby, who passed away last night. Here are Nadia Padovani’s words…
“The departure of Mike Trimby leaves a huge void in the championship and in our hearts. As the founder and president of IRTA, Mike was key in the growth and development of our championship. If we have reached the current organisational and professional levels is without a doubt thanks to Mike’s efforts and passion. Speaking for the whole Gresini Racing, we’d like to extend the most heartfelt condolences to Irene and all the guys at IRTA.”
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THIS IS THE FIRST IMPORTANT INTERNATIONAL TEST FOR THE “BACK TO AFRICA” PROJECT IN PREPARATION FOR THE GREAT AFRICAN RAIDS
TWO TUAREG ON THE STARTING GRID DEVELOPED BY APRILIA RACING IN COLLABORATION WITH GCORSE, ENTRUSTED TO JACOPO CERUTTI AND FRANCESCO MONTANARI, ALREADY ABSOLUTE PROTAGONISTS IN THE ITALIAN MOTORALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
Noale (Venice), 30 August 2023 - The “Back to Africa” project, launched to return the Aprilia brand to the great African raids, is entering its most important stage: two Aprilia Tuareg developed to race in the desert will be on the starting grid of the Transanatolia Rally, scheduled to be held in Turkey from 2 through 9 September, entrusted to the two Aprilia Racing factory riders, Jacopo Cerutti and Francesco Montanari.
After the initial positive tests conducted in Sardinia and Friuli, the Turkish event - a rally as exciting as it is demanding that will cross Anatolia from the Black Sea all the way to the Aegean Sea for a total of 2500 km - is a true test bench for the competition Tuareg in view of future endeavours in the African desert.
The Aprilia Tuareg developed for rally raids is built on the technical base of the bike which - closely derived from the stock model - is a huge protagonist in the Italian Motorally Championship, where Jacopo Cerutti has already taken four category wins out of the six held so far, even coming close to an absolute victory in the first two rounds. A surprising début for Tuareg in the Italian series, with Cerutti currently leading the G-1000 class, reserved for multi-cylinder bikes over 600 cc.
Developed by Aprilia Racing in collaboration with GCorse of the Guareschi brothers, the Aprilia Tuareg designed for desert racing exploits the great off-road base features of the stock Tuareg.
In an initial stage of development, focus was on chassis performance, with a modular frame and geometries aimed at ensuring stability at high speeds and greater suspension travel. Subsequently, focus shifted to finding maximum engine reliability in prohibitive conditions through various changes, including the introduction of an oil radiator. Last, but not least, the adoption of a first supplementary fuel tank increased range, necessary for covering the long rally raid distances.
The competition version of the Aprilia Tuareg is fitted with Öhlins by Andreani suspension, a complete SC Project exhaust in titanium, and a specific Sprint Filter air filter. Collaboration has been priceless with Metzeler, who is focusing on the twin-cylinder adventure world with increasing interest and chose Aprilia to develop products for future use in rally raids.
Massimo Rivola - Aprilia Racing CEO
“The top priority of Aprilia Racing’s participation in the Transanatolia Rally is not the result. We are headed to Turkey to accumulate as much experience as possible in a setting that is brand new for us and which represents an extremely demanding test bench in view of the end goal - our return to African raids. Finishing the race will be fundamental in order to gather valuable data for the future to prepare for even more difficult events. In any case, the path we have taken thus far makes us optimistic for the future. The Tuareg has been able to take home outstanding results from the beginning of this project and all this has been possible thanks to a stock product with an already excellent technical base and the efforts of everyone, from the Guareschi brothers to our riders.”
Vittoriano Guareschi - Project Leader
“Development on the Tuareg continues non-stop and this time we’ll do it in a competition. The Transanatolia is an extremely important event for various reasons. We’ll be measuring up against many qualified adversaries in order to see how competitive the project is and it will also be essential to cover a lot of kilometres and gather data to see which areas need to be developed. Both the riders, Jacopo and Francesco, will have the latest evolution of the bike available to them, which has many new chassis and engine upgrades. Since this is a competition, measuring up against our adversaries is certainly important, but our priority remains developing the bike as quickly as possible.”
Jacopo Cerutti
“The Transanatolia rally will be a great test bench because well be tackling conditions which come closer to the African races in some respects compared with what we have become accustomed to in the Italian Motorally. There will be many strong rivals on the starting grid, so we’ll also have the chance to compare ourselves to them in order to better assess our own level of competitiveness. The goal is to successfully battle with the other twin-cylinders and - why not? - even try to stay up front in a few sections, although we mustn’t forget that our project is still quite young. The tests we’ve done so far on the bike have gone well, but competing in turkey will allow us to conduct the most effective tests to improve.”
Francesco Montanari
“The Transanatolia will be my first international rally and I’m going into it well aware that it will serve as great experience for me. Understanding the race rhythms will be important for me, with much longer legs than the ones I'm accustomed to. In recent months, I’ve tried to prepare physically as best as possible and I'm certain that having an expert teammate like Jacopo by my side will help me. I'm pumped up. In the tests, my sensations on the bike were outstanding. We’re on the right path to get close to Africa and I can’t wait to continue our work racing in Turkey.”
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MikiRaiko NEW GRESINI RACING MOTOGP E-RIDER
Team Gresini Racing MotoGP once again looks at Indonesia and for the 2023 season gambles everything on MikiRaiko, the best-placed, non-European rider in the recently concluded MotoGP e-Sports qualifying for the year. His real name being Hilmawan and known in the gaming world as MikiRaiko since 2021, the young Indonesian rider chose to race with number 49.
This year, the e-sports challenge reaches a whole new level with the premier class competing in four virtual rounds (the first one at Mugello, Montmeló and Misano the 25th of August) and with the final event taking place at Barcelona in November.
#49 MikiRaiko – E-RIDER
“First of all, it is an honour to be standard bearer of Team Gresini Racing MotoGP, a team that is known worldwide and ultra-famous in Indonesia. To arrive in the global scene was already a big goal of mine, and I did so by qualifying first in the non-European standings. The next target is the top five and since I’ll be battling against the world’s best, it won’t be easy.”
CARLO MERLINI – COMMERCIAL AND MARKETING DIRECTOR GRESINI RACING
"The realm of e-sports maintains its hold on audiences, and Gresini Racing has unquestionably embraced this trend. As widely recognized, our longstanding connection with Indonesia has led to a seamless decision in selecting the gamer to proudly represent Gresini Racing in the MotoGP e-Sports Championship. Yet, there's an additional layer to this story. We extend a hearty welcome to MikiRaiko as a new member of the #gresinifamily. Notably, MikiRaiko emerged victorious in the exclusive selection round for non-European gamers, heightening our anticipation for a successful performance."
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GUS RODIO AND ROCCO LANDERS SHARE THE SPOILS IN THE TWO RACES IN PITTSBURGH
The Aprilia RS 660's positive streak continues in MotoAmerica's Twins Cup category. The riders of the Rodio Racing - Powered by Robem Engineering team took both victories in the two races held in Pittsburgh, the penultimate round of the season. They are now respectively in first and third place in the overall standings of a championship that seems to be heading towards a decisive finale at the New Jersey Motorsports Park over the weekend of 24 September.
In Race 1 it was Rocco Landers who climbed onto the top step of the podium after starting from pole position, passing under the chequered flag with a lead of over three seconds over his closest pursuer. Third place in a sprint (42 thousandths gap) for Gus Rodio.
Race 2 instead celebrated yet another one-two of the season, with Rodio ahead of Landers in a grid that saw no less than 16 Aprilia RS 660s out of 41 starters.
The general classification therefore sees Rodio leading with 200 points while Landers is third at 14 points.
GUS RODIO
"This weekend we struggled a bit with the set-up of the bike in the second sector, the 'esses' and the straight. On Sunday we made some progress, but we took a risk with the tyres. We took a step in the right direction with the set-up, but the tyre was a bit slippery. I am satisfied with the results this weekend and we have extended our points lead a little ahead of my home race. At the next round there will be a lot of friends and family there and we will see what happens."
ROCCO LANDERS
"This is a good track for me and the team set up the bike very well. On Sunday morning I made a mistake and we took the precaution of changing the engine. Unfortunately, this change resulted in a loss of power. I did my best in the race and it was nice to get another one-two."
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