Aprilia Racing Archives - Page 26 of 26

Racing

2013 WSBK Private Phillip Island Test Day 1 Times: Laverty Leads as New Surface Causes Crashfest

By David Emmett 02/14/2013 2 Comments

While the Moto2 and Moto3 riders finish up their test at Valencia, on the other side of the world, the World Superbike and World Supersport riders are beginning the final run in to the season opener in 10 days’ time.

They started today with the first of two days of private testing, the first chance the riders get to see the resurfaced Phillip Island track. The overall reaction to the new surface was very positive, though the lack of rubber on the track caused a spot of mayhem in the morning, with several riders crashing out.

Fastest man of the day was Eugene Laverty on the factory Aprilia, the Irishman circulating at lap record pace, but still a second off the pole record. Leon Camier put the Fixi Suzuki into 2nd spot, ahead of the Pata Hondas of Johnny Rea and Leon Haslam, while Marco Melandri ended the day in 5th. Carlos Checa did not ride, as the 2011 World Champion was suffering with a stomach bug.

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Racing

2013 Aprilia RSV4 Factory WSBK Race Bike Debuts

By Jensen Beeler 02/08/2013 7 Comments

Fresh from Italy, we get our first glimpse of the 2013 Aprilia RSV4 Factory WSBK race bike in its new livery. While the uniforms may look the same, the men wearing them have changed to some extent, and in many ways so has the Italian brand’s racing strategy.

Building its previous team around Max Biaggi, the previous incarnation of Aprilia Racing catered to every whim of The Roman Emperor — read into that as you will. But now with Biaggi’s retirement from motorcycle racing, Aprilia is forced to replace tried-and-true talent with two up-and-coming stars.

Out from behind Max’s shadow, Eugene Laverty is expected to impress this year, having shown himself a formidable rider on the RSV4 Factory last season with his sixth-place Championship finish. Seventh in the Championship himself, Sylvain Guintoli will join the Irishmen, after coming off a tumultuous season with Liberty Racing. With three race wins and six podiums, Guintoli made a definite impression, especially when he was on the slower Ducati.

With both of Aprilia Racing’s WSBK riders starting to come into their own, the Italian brand is showing a lot of growth potential in the premier production-motorcycle racing series. Time will tell on the results, but we expect a bevy of podiums from the Aprilia riders this year, and maybe a win or two. Mas photos after the jump.

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Racing

WSBK: Althea Racing Switches to Aprilia for 2013 Season

By Jensen Beeler 12/03/2012 No Comments

After getting dumped by Ducati Corse, which will be running its own factory team, Althea Racing has made the unsurprising switch to Aprilia hardware for lone rider Davide Giugliano, as they gear up for the 2013 World Superbike Championship season.

A top team in the WSBK paddock, Althea has potent prospects for next season with the Aprilia RSV4 Factory, especially as Giugliano continues to gain experience in World Superbike. This announcement brings the total to four Aprilia machines on the 2013 grid: the two factory bikes of Eugene Laverty and Sylvain Guintoli, as well as Red Devils Roma’s entry with Michel Fabrizio.

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Racing

Official: Sylvain Guintoli to Aprilia Racing for WSBK

By Jensen Beeler 11/28/2012 5 Comments

It has been no big secret that Sylvain Guintoli is riding with Aprilia Racing at the World Superbike test at Jerez this week, in what surely has been an audition for the Frenchman on the Italian team. Coming off a tumultuous season with the Effenbert Liberty Racing team, Guintoli backed out of a contract deal with Crescent Suzuki to take a stab with Aprilia’s factory squad — a move that has seemingly paid off for Guinters.

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Racing

Max Biaggi Officially Retires from Motorcycle Racing

By Jensen Beeler 11/07/2012 9 Comments

True to speculation, Max Biaggi’s media presentation today announced the retirement of the reigning World Superbike Champion, at the ripe age of 41. A six-time World Champion, Biaggi’s latest stars to his leathers have come from his involvement in the factory Aprilia Racing team in WSBK, with the other four stars coming from his consecutive 250GP World Championships.

Winning his crown by half a point, in what will surely be the narrowest margin ever in World Superbike history, Biaggi’s last season went right down to the wire until the end of the season at Portimao, as the Roman Emperor had to fend off strong contentions from both Tom Sykes and Macro Melandri throughout the 2012 Championship.

“It ‘s been the longest night, but I’m happy to leave now. I do not want to be like politicians attached to the chair. I thought about it a lot, I said to myself continuous 1 or 2 years or I stop? And I decided to leave now,” said Biaggi during his announcement at Vallelunga, the circuit where he started his racing career.

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Racing

Biaggi to Make an Announcement November 7th – Retire, Re-sign, or Other?

By Jensen Beeler 11/05/2012 14 Comments

Fresh off the heels of him wining the 2012 World Superbike Championship, question marks surround Max Biaggi — will he stay with Aprilia for another season and defend his title? Or, will he end his motorcycle racing career on a high, having just collected his sixth world title?

The crystal ball on this subject is uncertain. Though still not re-signed with the factory Aprilia squad for the next World Superbike Championship season, Biaggi did take part in the latest WSBK test at Aragon, which certainly lead to some believing the Roman Emperor would race for at least another season.

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Racing

WSBK: Suzuki Slams Sylvain Guintoli for Breach of Contract

By Jensen Beeler 10/15/2012 13 Comments

Some more controversy is brooding for World Superbike rider Sylvain Guintoli, as Paul Denning and the FIXI Crescent Suzuki have slammed the British-living French-born rider for backing out of his 2013 commitments with the team. Issuing a statement to the press, Crescent Suzuki states that Guintoli and the team came to a “full and final agreement” at Magny-Cours, which was singed by the Frenchman.

According to Crescent Suzuki, Guinters made significant steps with the team to test at Aragaon starting today, but since that agreement, Guintoli has informed the team that he has to back out of his testing obligation in order to consider a new offer from a rival team. That rival team is heavily rumored to be Aprilia Racing, which may be scrambling to find a replacement rider for the still undecided Max Biaggi, the now-current World Superbike Champion.

For devout WSBK fans, the statements from FIXI Crescent Suzuki sound similar to those made by Liberty Racing, when the Czech team let Guintoli go mid-season, citing a number of reasons, including the Frenchman’s on-track results. Starting strong early on, Liberty Racing’s swan song started at Monza, and ultimately saw the team release its riders one-by-one, before finally missing the last race at Magny-Cours altogether.

For added Drama Llama, the press statement from FIXI Crescent Suzuki and Paul Denning is after the jump.

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Racing

WSBK: Unfamiliar Names Thrill During Race 1 at Misano

By Jensen Beeler 06/11/2012 2 Comments

With many of World Superbike’s top riders finding themselves on unfamiliar grid positions for WSBK’s stop at Misano, a slew of new names were thrust into the spotlight. Getting their chance to shine at the coastal track, WSBK fans were treated to a multitude of great battles under sunny Italian skies, as veteran riders had to work their way from the bike of the field, and contend with riders they normally don’t see in racing conditions. If you didn’t catch Race 1 at Misano, your life isn’t complete. Race reults after the jump.

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Racing

Max Biaggi Unveils #1 Plate for WSBK

By Jensen Beeler 02/24/2011 1 Comment

There’s been a bit of hemming and hawing regarding whether Max Biaggi would take the Champion’s Honor and wear the number one on his Alitalia Aprilia RSV4 Factory race bike in this season’s World Superbike Championship. But that speculation has seemingly come to an end now, as during the WSBK “class photo” today, Biaggi’s Aprilia RSV4 wheeled-out of the garage with the #1 plate blazing.

Reports from the World Superbike paddock suggest that Aprilia is keen to make a showing of its success last season with the #1 plate, while Biaggi would prefer to retain his venerable #3 logo, which is his current official listing with World Superbike.

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Racing

Max Biaggi Signs with Aprilia for Another Two Years

By Jensen Beeler 10/14/2010 1 Comment

Many expected Max Biaggi to retire at the end of the 2010 World Superbike season, but the 39-year-old still has some fight in him yet, as he’s signed-on with Aprilia Racing for another two years according to reports out of the Italian press. Expected to be announced tomorrow in a festival at Noale (home of Aprilia), Biaggi is the first Italian to win the World Superbike Championship, and this year also the first time an Aprilia has ever won the World Superbike Championship. You can expect the party in Noale to be appropriately rowdy.

Source: Il Messaggero via MotoBlog.it

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Bikes

Aprilia RXV 4.5 Rally Now Available to Private Teams

By Jensen Beeler 04/27/2010 2 Comments

After a strong showing at this year’s Dakar Rally, Aprilia has seen a growing demand from non-factory backed teams who are interested in running the Aprilia RXV 4.5 Rally bike in the Dakar and other adventure racing series. Bending to this demand, Aprilia, in conjunction with Team Giofil, will be making available ready-to-race RXV 4.5 Rally motorcycles to private riders.

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