Aprilia had more than its share of difficulties at the IRTA test completed yesterday at Catalunya, including mechanical problems and a crash by Colin Edwards. Effectively, Aprilia was removed from the big show on Sunday.
As the teams move to Suzuka now for further testing and the first race (scheduled for April 6), expect Aprilia to strut its stuff. We still think the Aprilia will be a very competitive MotoGP machine, and, both Colin Edwards and Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia’s two factory riders) have a wealth of experience at Suzuka, including victories at the Suzuka 8-hours race.
The Suzuka track has some modifications to it this year, but expect Aprilia to be near the top of the charts in qualifying, nonetheless. Edwards has shown the ability to learn entirely new tracks quickly, so far, and he will have no trouble dealing with the slight modifications to the Suzuka circuit. Expect the same from Haga.
