There is a lot of fascinating news coming out of this week’s EICMA motorcycle show in Milan: the boom in smaller capacity motorcycles, an upgraded Fireblade, a massive push from MV Agusta, but the show is also making headlines which will affect motorcycle racing as well.
Today at the EICMA, during a presentation on Aprilia’s future plans, Piaggio CEO Roberto Colaninno announced that the Italian manufacturer is aiming to make a return to the MotoGP class as a factory entry in 2016.
For the 2010 World Superbike season, Aprilia is looking to build upon their successful 2009 season, which saw Max Biaggi finishing 4th despite the RSV4’s first outing in WSBK racing. While the 2009 factory Aprilia team ran no title sponsorhip, that’s all set to change in 2010 with the announcement that Italian airline Alitalia will be headlining on the teams livery.
The Piaggio Group has annouced that it has devised a new business plan for its subsidiary, Moto Guzzi. According to Roberto Colaninno, President of the Piaggio Group, the new business plan will ensure that Moto Guzzi releases a new line of motorcycles during the 2011-2012 model year.
Helping fuel this product line extension will be the investment of €12 million that the parent company plans to dump into Moto Guzzi’s coffers, but the money comes attached with some interesting strings from the European Investment Bank. More on this after the jump.