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Camshaft

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After getting the nod to use their gear driven camshaft in World Superbike racing (shown above is the Aprilia’s belt driven camshaft), Aprilia has become a tour de force on the WSBK grid. Aprilia first used the gear driven cams in race environment while at the Miller Motorsports Park round, much to the protest of the other teams.

Aprilia and Max Biaggi have been on a bender since the new camshaft’s implementation, with the Aprilia RSV4 going double-double (no, not that Double-Double) and winning every race since the gear driven camshaft was installed on the race bike.

World Superbike has clarified its position after teams lodged a complaint against Aprilia for the team’s use of a gear-driven camshaft motor during the practice session at the Phillip Island WSBK stop. Despite the fact that the gear-driven camshaft is a publicly available upgrade to the RSV4 motor, and was not specially outlawed in WSBK regulations, other teams in the paddock threw a fit when they got word that Aprilia was testing the motor while in Australia, and planned to use it in Portimao.

Not wanting to be on the wrongside of the rules, Aprilia refrained from using the technology at Portimao, but it looks like WSBK’s clarification of Rule 2.4.8 would have left the Italian team in the clear, with a caveat.