MOTOGP – APRILIA ARRIVES AT JEREZ FOR THE FIRST EUROPEAN ROUND
SPECIAL INCENTIVE FOR ALVARO BAUTISTA, STEFAN BRADL READY TO CAPITALISE ON HIS RS-GP’S AGILITY
ROMANO ALBESIANO: “CHASSIS, ELECTRONIC AND AERODYNAMIC UPGRADES”
After the overseas start to the season, MotoGP makes its début in Europe with the Spanish round at Jerez. This is a track that marks an important turning point for Aprilia, and not only in geographical terms. In fact, it has a layout with decidedly different characteristics than the tracks from the first three races. This is a layout that, on paper, could favour the peculiarities of the new Aprilia RS-GP.
A scheduled development programme will also begin in Spain, the first fruits of which will be seen this weekend. There are chassis upgrades, developments with the electronics and aerodynamics born out of the experience gained during the first outings of the 2016 prototype. Therefore, after the encouraging results achieved in the first races, for the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini this promises to be a race with multiple incentives, where the primary goal is still to continue racking up kilometres and experience.
ROMANO ALBESIANO – APRILIA RACING MANAGER
“In the first three races of the season we were able to collect a lot of data that also highlight the areas where we need to improve the most right now. Building from there, we have laid out our development schedule for the European races, a programme that will begin already this weekend with the first, important steps in terms of the chassis, electronics and aerodynamics. Jerez is Alvaro’s home race and he did very well here last year, whereas Stefan is enjoying a good trend, as his recent results demonstrate. I expect that both of them, also considering the characteristics of the track, will be able to take another step forward in terms of performance”.
FAUSTO GRESINI – TEAM MANAGER
“The results are positive, thanks to the efforts of the Aprilia technicians and the entire team. We are preparing for a long series of races in Europe, with the Jerez round representing an important test bench. When a bike works well on this track it is generally effective almost everywhere. So we are anxiously awaiting this GP, knowing we can count on upgrades that can help us make progress”.
ALVARO BAUTISTA
“We’re beginning the European races after a decidedly positive start to the season, given the fact that we were able to earn points in every race with a completely new bike. And we could have done even better if it hadn’t been for a few things that were beyond our control. Jerez is a much shorter track and rather different from the ones where we’ve raced so far. It will be interesting to see how the RS-GP performs. I think that it will be a fundamental weekend for finding a good base. Until now we have taken on particular circuits with very specific setup needs. I also like it because a lot of fans and my friends will be there, so that will make for a special atmosphere. The goal is to keep going down the path we have already started, finishing the race and staying as close as possible to the top 10”.
STEFAN BRADL
“The first European race of the season is always long-awaited. Jerez is an interesting track because it has a completely different layout that the one on the tracks we’ve tackled so far. Overall it is a slow track, with short straight stretches where power doesn’t count for too much, so the excellent agility of our bike could allow us to take a further step forward. I’m pumped up for the weekend since we will have the support of our European fans, who always make their presence and warmth felt, as well as some electronics upgrades that the guys at Aprilia have been working on nonstop”.
