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Category: Moto GP
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Schenk Italian Wineries, an extremely important Italian wine institution, is betting again on Team Gresini and in 2021 it will be official sponsor of the team’s Moto2 and Moto3 efforts.
Already a Team Gresini partner since 2017, Schenk Italian Wineries will be present with one of its top-tier brands Bacio della Luna (Prosecco and Spumante wines) and it will further increase its visibility.
In Moto3 it will be visible on the chest area of Gabriel Rodrigo and Jeremy Alcoba’s leathers, as well as on the team uniforms, team trucks, hospitality and pit-box panels.
in Moto2, Schenk will reunite with Fabio Di Giannantonio and its logo will be present on the Kalex machines #21 and #11 (on both sides of the front fairing), on the sleeves of the rider leathers, on the team uniforms, team trucks and pit-box panels.
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ESPARGARÓ, SAVADORI AND SMITH WITH APRILIA RACING IN THE 2021 SEASON
Aleix Espargaró, Lorenzo Savadori and Bradley Smith will be the Aprilia Racing riders for the 2021 MotoGP World Championship season.
The forced loss of Andrea Iannone, and above all, the vast amount of time his ordeal took, severely damaged Aprilia Racing, whose only “fault” was remaining loyal to their rider and rightfully trusting in reasonable times for the conclusion of the proceedings.
Over the last few weeks, the names of several riders have been associated with Aprilia Racing, as always happens in the negotiating phase. Some of the possibilities evaluated did not come to fruition independently of Aprilia Racing’s desires, so between the situations that were actually feasible and the possibility of continuing with the three riders who rode the RS-GP this season, the latter was chosen.
Given the clear growth of the RS-GP, which was improved in every area and continued to improve significantly in the final part of the season, this will provide continuity to the project for the upcoming season, which will be crucial in preparing for the subsequent five-year period, during which Aprilia intends to put more bikes on the track and implement a rider search and assessment policy.
MASSIMO RIVOLA - APRILIA RACING CEO
“It’s no secret that we offered three young riders an opportunity because we felt that our project could be very interesting for talented young riders, but they did not yet feel ready for the leap and, at the same time, the teams that have already signed them for the 2021 season preferred to keep them. We respectfully acknowledge their decision. We prefer to continue with our riders, rather than choosing solutions that are still open but about which we are not entirely convinced. Even in the difficult conditions of this season, particularly penalising for a fledgling project, the bike improved greatly and significantly reduced the gaps both in the races and in practice on basically all the circuits. Aleix finished on a high note and, even in the race yesterday, was lapping with the same times as the leaders. Lorenzo has also shown significant progress in just three races and we know that we can count on Bradley’s professionalism and experience. Aleix will obviously be our top rider. The roles of second rider and test rider will be decided at the end of the winter test schedule.”
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APRILIA RACING AND (RED) TOGETHER AGAIN FOR THE FINAL RACE OF THE SEASON
IN 2020, THE UNTIRING COMMITMENT TO FIGHTING NEONATAL AIDS IS JOINED BY THE BATTLE AGAINST COVID-19
AN IMPORTANT CHALLENGE FOR ALL MOTOGP FANS
For the fifth year in a row, the Piaggio Group and Aprilia Racing dedicate the final race of the MotoGP season to supporting the work of (RED), the association founded in 2006 by Bono and Bobby Shriver.
From its inception, (RED) has been active in the fight against neonatal HIV/AIDS and, in this difficult 2020 year, also against COVID-19.
(RED) and Aprilia Racing are together to raise awareness with the vast audience of MotoGP fans on issues such as AIDS, often underestimated or even forgotten, and the extremely current battle to prevent the spread of Covid. These are social awareness battles that the entire motorcycling community and all motorcycling enthusiasts can join, participating in the Shopathon campaign launched Wednesday where PRODUCT(RED) items are produced, the sales of which contribute directly to supporting the Global Fund. One of these products is the UMask, worn specifically by all the team throughout the Portimão race weekend.
(RED) brings the most iconic global brands and millions of people together in a monumental challenge, to definitively stamp out diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. From its foundation, (RED) has contributed 650 million USD to the Global Fund for the fight against AIDS and the help provided by (RED) has had an impact on the entire population, thanks to activities of prevention, care, consulting and assistance service.
ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"I am proud to see that my team, Aprilia Racing, is once again side by side with (RED) this year for such an important purpose. This has been a complicated year and initiatives like (RED) are the concrete hope of being able to win the battle against pandemics."
LORENZO SAVADORI
"MotoGP has a huge following all around the world and all the fans of our sport can help us support an important initiative like the one that (RED) carries out and to which I am honoured to contribute to."
DAVIDE ZANOLINI - PIAGGIO GROUP MKTG & COMMUNICATION MANAGER
"Especially in this extremely difficult year, the Piaggio Group could not fail to provide its constant support to RED and the Global Fund, not only with Vespa, as we do throughout the year, but also with the Aprilia Racing team which, for five years now, has offered, voluntarily and with a great spirit of collaboration, to raise awareness with the entire racing world about major health problems such as AIDS and now COVID-19 as well, particularly for children in the most disadvantaged areas of our planet."
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GREAT QUALIFIERS FOR ALEIX: SEVENTH PLACE TIME AND THIRD ROW
LORENZO PUTS IN IMPORTANT MILES WITH THE RS-GP
With great qualifiers, foreshadowed by the good performance demonstrated in all the practice sessions, Aleix rode his Aprilia RS-GP to the third row with the seventh best time. Times are extremely close, as they had been throughout the weekend, so it looks like it will be a heated race all the way to the chequered flag. A flag which, if the weather forecast is accurate, should be flying in bright sunlight, decidedly abnormal for this time of year.
The weather conditions didn’t seem to help Lorenzo Savadori at all as he looked for answers to the changes in the setup that were intended to improve his feeling during braking. In any case, he continued to progress and that would have been more evident if a worsening of the track in the final stages of Q1 hadn’t undermined his last flying lap.
ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"I was worried when I saw the rain this morning before FP3, because I knew I could battle to go straight through to Q2. Fortunately, the track started drying off toward the end of the session and I was one of the few who improved - just one tenth, but enough to make it into the top 10. In qualifying things weren’t exactly simple either. With the first tyre, the asphalt was still damp, but fortunately with the second one, I was able to do a good time. Tomorrow I expect to see a lot of riders very close to one another. Nobody seems capable of getting away at the front except maybe Franco and Taka. I want to start well and stay with the group. We lose a bit in acceleration, but I think I’ll be able to stay in the game for a good placement."
LORENZO SAVADORI
"Another strange day in terms of weather - not exactly easy conditions. The damp track kept us from pushing to the limit, so I wasn’t able to see how the feeling is with the front during braking and going into turns, which is what we are trying to improve. In Q1, the asphalt got worse just as I was doing a good lap - a pity. Tomorrow the weather will change for the umpteenth time, with sunshine and higher temperatures. My goal is to maintain a consistent pace in the race and to gain as much experience as possible."
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Matteo Ferrari’s 2020 MotoE campaign draws to a close with a flash of pride in today’s second and final race at Le Mans. Last year’s title winner put together a great comeback from 15th to 5th, which allows him to maintain second place in the standings behind Torres.
The expectations and hopes at the start of the weekend were very different, but yesterday’s crashed proved to be impossible to recover for the #11 rider of Team Trentino Gresini MotoE, who did a great job today in staying focused and finding what was a great result nevertheless. Ferrari finishes the season with 97 points, the same as Aegerter, but snatches second place thanks to better overall placements during the season.
A flavourless performance from Alessandro Zaccone who got stuck again in the usual turn one chaotic action and struggled to find pace in such a short race. His season ends with 37 points and the twelfth position in what was his rookie year in the series.
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