SPECIAL LIVERY FOR MELANDRI AND GUINTOLI’S RSV4s IN TO COMMEMORATE APRILIA’S FIRST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY IN 1987

APRILIA CELEBRATES 52 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES AND HUNDREDS OF GRAND PRIX WINS

Misano, 18 June 2014 – The Misano track is a special one for Aprilia. The races are held in front of Italian fans in a territory that has motorsports in its blood.

At Misano Aprilia will be remembering a fundamental milestone in its sport history. It was precisely here on this track where, on 30 August 1987, Loris Reggiani took the first Aprilia championship win, finishing in front of everyone else with the closest contender held at a gap of more than seven seconds.

That historic victory paved the way for a cascade of triumphs which brought Aprilia 38 championship titles in Motomondiale World Championship GP with 294 Grand Prix races won, 5 World  Superbike titles with 42 race wins and another 9 world championship wreaths in off-road disciplines. The total number is 52 World Championships in the last 22 years: an impressive collection that testifies to the know how of a company skilled in taking maximum advantage of research and success in competitions to create cutting-edge products.

In celebration of the 1987 victory the Aprilia RSV4 Superbikes ridden by Marco Melandri and Sylvain Guintoli will “dress” in a special livery which is reminiscent of the colours that distinguished Loris Reggiani’s Aprilia 250 that took the victory at Misano. For the occasion even the mechanics, the team and the umbrella girls will be wearing a special T-shirt which is a re-edition of the 1987 shirt.

The Aprilia Racing Team takes on the Italian round at Misano after triumphing in the previous round at Sepang (Malaysia). Aprilia’s domination in Asia was absolute, with an extraordinary “double one-two” that had Melandri winning in front of team mate Guintoli in both races. This result decreased the gap in the world championship standings, taking Sylvain to just 13 points from the top spot and allowing Marco to make up 34 points on the current championship leader.

Marco and Sylvain, who met in Mantua over the weekend during the opening party of Motoplex, the new Piaggio Group concept store that offers a glimpse of future international showrooms for the Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Piaggio and Vespa brands, are ready for battle.

Among other things, Misano is the other home race for Marco Melandri, fresh off a splendid Malaysian double win which rekindled his ambitions for the title. The rider from Ravenna is now aiming for consistent results in order to continue his streak.

Marco Melandri: “I am really happy to go to Misano after the double win in Malaysia and I am very pumped up. I am confident that I have found the way to take best advantage of my Aprilia, so I am expecting a weekend with a lot of adversaries but one where I will definitely be competitive. I especially want to do well both because we are playing on our home pitch and in order to do honour to the celebratory livery of my RSV4. I’ll be expecting to see a lot of you at Misano!”.

Also feeling confident is Sylvain Guintoli who loves the Misano track and who took a double second place at Sepang. These are prestigious finishes that strengthened his hold on second place in the standings.

Sylvain Guintoli: “Misano is back on the calendar and that is great news! I really like the track and it has always been good to Aprilia in 2012. After the great weekend at Sepang our goal is to maintain our good form. I’m sure that the support from our Italian fans will give us even more motivation”.

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