Bautista and Melandri on the track to improve with their RS-GP bikes

Austin (Texas - USA), 7 April 2015 - The second round of the 2015 MotoGP season, scheduled on the track at Austin, Texas, has Aprilia continuing its growth and development project.

In the opening round at Qatar it was Marco Melandri who rode his Aprilia RS-GP across the wire in his first race distance outing, whereas Alvaro Bautista – who had shown excellent signs during the test sessions on Saturday – was forced to withdraw due to damage to the braking system after contact with Marc Marquez in the first lap.

Bautista's performance in particular would have been important to have a “snapshot” of the progress made by Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, since this is the testing spirit with which the team is facing this first part of the season. In any case, the American round will provide the setting for a second and important test bench.

ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
“A season that is so packed, with eighteen GP races on the calendar, doesn't leave us much time even to complain. We left Qatar disappointed that we weren't able to assess Bautista's performance over race distance, but here is a second chance. For us it will be another fundamental test on our itinerary and obtaining information during the race would be really important. In the opening weekend we received confirmation of just how hard a challenge we accepted, but we also achieved some positive results that we'll be able to confirm during this American round in order to lay some solid cornerstones for development.”

FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
“After a Grand Prix as peculiar as the night race in Qatar, in Texas we'll be back on the track in conditions that we are obviously more accustomed to. The Losail track proved to be particularly demanding, but we expected that. Our Championship strategy is to learn all the tracks on the calendar so we can arrive at the 2016 season fully prepared from every point of view. Looking at it that way, Circuit of the Americas, which is a very complete track with fast turns and long straight stretches mixed with a more flowing part, represents another important test bench and a chance to collect important data. After the episode that involved Alvaro with no fault of his own during the race in Losail, our goal for this round is to have both riders finish the race, testing and taking a first step forward in terms of performance as well, both on the flying lap and race pace.”

ALVARO BAUTISTA
“In Texas we'll be taking on a completely different track than the one that hosted the first Grand Prix of the year. During the winter test sessions at Valencia, Jerez and Sepang the bike consistently performed the same way basically, whereas in Qatar we were facing new situations, but we don't know if that had to do with the particular characteristics of the track or the particular racing conditions with not much grip on the tarmac. So I'm anxious to get onto the track in Austin, a track with some hard braking sections and long straight stretches where we'll be able to check some important things concerning the way the RS-GP performs and continue our development work on the bike. It is essential for us to find the right motivation straight away after our disappointment in the first Grand Prix, where I was unable to complete even the first lap of the race, and get back to work with a positive attitude.”

MARCO MELANDRI
“Austin is a new track for me, so I am expecting a demanding weekend. In any case I think that finishing the race in Qatar was a helpful first experience and I hope it was also useful for the guys at Aprilia to make some important changes that will be able to help me gain more confidence on the bike. Now I'd like to take a few steps forward and at least try to get into the pack of riders ahead of me. It won't be easy, but I'm anxious to try.”