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Category: Superbikes
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AN OFFICIAL PARTNER OF THE APRILIA RACING TEAM IN THE MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Performance, reliability, and power, but also advanced research, a love of a challenge and competition at the highest technological level. These are the values shared by FPT Industrial and Aprilia Racing, which have led the CNH Industrial brand to become an official partner of the racing department of the Noale company in the MotoGP World Championship - the championship that represents the technological pinnacle of motorcycle racing.
The FPT Industrial logo will debut on the track, displayed on the new Aprilia RS-GP ridden by Aleix Espargarò and Bradley Smith, starting on July 19th with the Spanish Grand Prix held at the Jerez circuit. It will accompany the bikes, riders, and the entire Aprilia Racing Team at all the stages of the world championship season that promises to be very close-run and hard-fought, right up until the last chequered flag.
As part of the Piaggio Group, Aprilia has 54 world titles to its name, and with 294 Grands Prix wins in the Motorcycle World Championship, it holds the record for victories amongst all the European manufacturers in the history of the greatest motorcycle competition. Before the start of the season, the many Aprilia fans and motor enthusiasts that are part of the FPT Industrial world had the opportunity to "virtually" test the new Aprilia MotoGP in the Powered by FPT version, riding it on ‘discovery’ laps of the Mugello racetrack.
From May 23rd-30th, aspiring Grand Prix riders were able to challenge the famous e-gamer eleghost555, in a specially prepared video game, trying to beat his lap time at the prestigious and challenging Tuscan track. The fact that thousands of gamers participated in the challenge and the evident enthusiasm it inspired across all social media networks are testament to the rousing emotions to be experienced on track with FPT Industrial and Aprilia.
“At FPT Industrial we also feel at home at the MotoGP circuits. We look forward to the start of the World Championship to see Aprilia Racing take to the track as well as to celebrate ‘Made in Italy’, especially after such a difficult period. Together we want to be the engines of the restart” - confirms Carlo Moroni, Communications Manager for FPT Industrial.
The Brand loves challenges. In the past, it achieved record speed on water with its Cursor 16 marine engine, which reached 277.5 km/h and got on the podium of the historic Dakar race with its Cursor 13. It also equipped a grape harvester with its N67 engine, which harvested 197.6 tons of grapes in Australia in eight hours, corresponding to about 200,000 bottles of Shiraz.
“The partnership with FPT Industrial takes on a special character precisely because it has come into being in such a difficult year, not only for Motorsport and the MotoGP but also for the entire industry, domestic and worldwide” - says Massimo Rivola, Aprilia Racing’s CEO. “It is, therefore, more than just a strong sign of restarting; it is proof of the strength and determination of two Italian brands who are collaborating to compete at the most difficult of moments in a championship at the highest level, united by their love of a challenge”.
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APRILIA PREPARES FOR A RETURN TO RACING
THREE DAYS ON THE TRACK AT MISANO FOR ALEIX, BRADLEY AND LORENZO
A first taste of the return to normalcy, albeit with all the precautions required by the COVID-19 emergency, saw Aprilia back on the track for three days of testing at Misano. While waiting to resume a World Championship that actually never really officially began, Aleix Espargaró and Bradley Smith shared the track in Emilia-Romagna with a few protagonists of MotoGP and the factory derivative series. One of them was Lorenzo Savadori, first busy with the development of the RSV4 1100 he’ll be using in the Italian Championship and then swinging a leg over the 2019 RS-GP on the third and final day.
This series of tests was fundamental, both to pick up the thread that had been interrupted after Qatar and to give the riders a chance to prepare physically for a rather intense calendar, which will have them busy from July through November with very few breaks. All this was under the summer sun of Misano, which allowed riders and technicians to take full advantage of the time available, but which also put their resistance to the test.
At the end of the three days, the best of the 183 laps Aleix turned stopped the clock at 1'32.932, the fastest of any rider on the track. On the other hand, it was 207 laps for Bradley Smith, who will be subbing for Andrea Iannone for the early laps on the calendar, with a best time of 1'33.536. Also noteworthy was a crash on the “sweeper” for the English rider, but without consequences.
ALEIX ESPARGARÓ
"After such a long stop, it was exciting to get back onto the track and I already can’t wait to go to Jerez for the first two races. Turning a lot of laps is fundamental for us. We have a totally new bike which, although born with great potential, needs to get some miles under it. We also know that Misano is not our favourite track, but in spite of that, at the end of the three days, we managed to achieve a good pace, confirming the positive impressions we had already had in Malaysia and Qatar."
BRADLEY SMITH
"I’m honestly pleased at the end of these tests. I had to make a physical and mental step to go from tester to rider and I think I managed, especially on this last day. Right now, it is fundamental for us to gain experience on this new bike, gathering data and understanding how it reacts. While the base setup proved to be good straight away in Malaysia and Qatar, there are still many aspects that we need to explore in order to exploit the full potential of the new project. On my part, I know that I still have room to improve and Aleix’s performance demonstrates as much, but the gap has shrunk and I feel much more at ease taking the 2020 RS-GP to the limit."
LORENZO SAVADORI
"It was nice to be back in the saddle of the Aprilia MotoGP bike. The sensations improve every time I get on it. My feeling improves with the tyres, with the bike, and with the brakes and I understand more and more which style to adopt to begin to exploit it. I turned more than 80 laps today and I am rather pleased from every point of view. We are growing with the RSV4 1100 that I’ll be using in the Italian Championship. We still need to figure out a few things, but we’ll be back on the track in a few days for the first race at Mugello. I lapped a lot over these three days, more than 900 kilometres, but physically I feel very well and this is also positive."
ROMANO ALBESIANO - APRILIA RACING TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
"These were important tests to define the starting point of our championship. We assessed the various chassis, engine and electronics solutions, in addition to breaking in a team that is brand new in many aspects. The riders needed this test as well to get back into the rhythm after such a long stop, and I must say that I saw them improving day after day. The decisions in view of Jerez have been taken. Many of the new features we had prepared worked well and I am rather pleased with the overall level of the bike. In any case, there is still a lot of work to do on the details, especially to increase overall reliability. We say it every year, but it isn’t wrong to do so: the level of the championship has gone up even farther and that pushes us to make an even greater effort."
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The MotoE World Cup will kick also at Jerez de la Frontera, with Matteo Ferrari (Team Trentino Gresini MotoE) as the man to beat in this second electric season.
The MotoGP 2020 Calendar is finally out with the Gresini Racing Team that will be fighting in all the three category (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 Team & Kömmerling Gresini Moto3 Team) of the World Championship starting from Jerez de la Frontera on 19 of July.
Finally the Junior Team Total Gresini will look for glory in a shorter Italian Championship with four events (instead of six).
R1 Mugello (4-5 of July)
R2 Misano (25-26 of July)
R3 Imola (5-6 of September)
R4 Vallelunga (17-18 of October)
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It’s time for a new chapter of the Virtual Grand Prix season, and this weekend you could enjoy a new event at Silverstone circuit. The Gresini Racing Team will be on the grid with two of its raising stars: Nicolò Bulega (Federal Oil Gresini) for the Moto2 Category and Jeremy Alcoba (Kömmerling Gresini) for the Moto3 one.
You can watch our riders from 3pm on motogp.com and esport.motogp.com (for free and with no register), and on selected TV broadcasters including Sky Italy, Canal+ in France, DAZN (in Spain, Italy and DACHS), BT Sport in the UK, ServusTV in Austria and Germany, Viasat in Sweden, NBC in the USA, Fox Brazil and ESPN in Latin America, Motorsport TV Russia, Eurosport India, Fox Asia, Fox Australia, TEN, and SuperSport across Africa.
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Follow Matteo Ferrari and the Team Trentino Gresini MotoE in the Virtual Grand Prix of Italy this Sunday. The event, the first ever virtual MotoE race, will be broadcast at 3pm (GMT +2) on Sunday the 17th of May.
You can watch the MotoE 2019 World Champion from 3pm on motogp.com and esport.motogp.com (for free and with no register), and on selected TV broadcasters including Sky Italy, Canal+ in France, DAZN (in Spain, Italy and DACHS), BT Sport in the UK, ServusTV in Austria and Germany, Viasat in Sweden, NBC in the USA, Fox Brazil and ESPN in Latin America, Motorsport TV Russia, Eurosport India, Fox Asia, Fox Australia, TEN, and SuperSport across Africa.
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