WSBK – FIRST DAY OF TESTS ON THE SPANISH ARAGON CIRCUIT
LEON HASLAM AND JORDI TORRES SEARCH FOR THE BEST FEELING WITH THE RSV4 RF ON THE DIFFICULT SPANISH TRACK
Alcaniz (Spain), 10 April 2015 – The first European weekend of World Superbike began with a lot of work in the Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils garage. With two riders in their first year on the RSV4 RF, which has also been substantially revamped compared to the 2014 version, the Friday practice sessions at Motorland de Aragon had the Italian team’s mechanics working hard on comparative tests in search of the best solution for Sunday’s races.
After a morning session that can only be defined as exploratory, with Leon Haslam lying tenth just behind team mate Jordi Torres, in the afternoon FP2 sessions the English rider took a decisive step forward from the first laps, improving his performance by almost two seconds and jumping up to fifth place. In any case Haslam acknowledges that there is plenty of room for improvement and is determined to test some drastically different solutions tomorrow in order to explore the potential of his RSV4 RF on the fast and technical Spanish tarmac. There are two goals: to find speed for Superpole to get a good spot on the starting grid and to work as much as possible on race pace.
Leon Haslam: “I spent the morning trying to adapt, especially because I am riding the RSV4 here at Aragon for the first time, whereas many of my rivals already have some test sessions under their belts on this track. The guys did a great job before the FP2 sessions where I was able to improve by a second and a half straight away. We’re moving in the right direction and we aren’t far off, but we need to improve more in order to do our best tomorrow and especially on Sunday.”
After demonstrating method and focus in his first Aprilia outings, rookie Jordi Torres arrived at Aragon defining it as a crucial “final exam” to assess is level of competitiveness. For this purpose Jordi and his team focused on gathering references on the bike and track in the first session, leaving the afternoon to search for the right setup and the best adjustments on the RSV4. Although the many tests conducted on one hand prevented working on a “time attack”, on the other hand they represent a good starting place for better work in view of the races.
Jordi Torres: “Today was one of those days where there is a lot to do. We’re still looking for a better feeling with the bike, especially in the braking sections. I used the first session to scope out some reference points on the track and on the RSV4, whereas in the afternoon I felt much more at ease. We did a lot of testing with various results, so now we’ll use the information we’ve gathered to set up our work tomorrow and Sunday.”
The RSV4 RF made an excellent début in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup. With the Aragon race the V4 from Noale will be making its first appearance in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup, expanding Aprilia’s commitments in factory derivative bike racing. On the first day of tests the 2014 runner-up, Lorenzo Savadori, with Team Nuova M2 Racing, rode his Aprilia to the top spot in the combined standings of the two sessions, leaving his closest rival more than 7 tenths behind and setting himself up to be a key player straight away in the first race of the season.
WSBK COMBINED STANDINGS
- Rea (Kawasaki) 1’51.234
- Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’51.379
- Davies (Ducati) 1’51.582
- Fores (Ducati) 1’52.000
- Haslam (Aprilia) 1’52.096
- Lowes (Suzuki) 1’52.309
- VD Mark (Honda) 1’52.558
- Terol (Ducati) 1’52.607
- Guintoli (Honda) 1’52.617
- Torres (Aprilia) 1’52.766
