AT VALENCIA THE APRILIA RS-GP MACHINES ON THE TRACK IN (RED) LIVERY
BIKES, RIDERS AND TEAM ALL ENTIRELY IN RED TO CELEBRATE (RED) AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE FIGHT AGAINST AIDS
BAUTISTA AND BRADL HARD AT WORK PREPARING FOR THE RACE ON SUNDAY
The first day of free practice for the Valencia MotoGP round had the Aprilia RS-GP machines on the track in the special red (RED) livery.
The entire Aprilia Racing team is dressed all in red, in fact, in “RED) to celebrate the Piaggio Group’s support for (RED), the association founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver to contribute to programmes in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in developing countries.
The only things that appear on the RS-GP bikes ridden by Bautista and Bradl are the (RED) logo and the hashtag #iRideRED – that all fans can share – to celebrate an association that has stood out over the years with a concrete commitment to the fight against diseases that represent one of the biggest problems of our times. Even Alvaro and Stefan’s leathers, obviously red, bear only the (RED) logo. This is an unprecedented initiative in which the entire team, sponsors and partners have come together in a single charitable intention and that will continue throughout the weekend, naturally including the race on Sunday.
From a sports point of view, Bautista and Bradl used the first two free practice sessions to size up a track that is always complicated to interpret with its many slow and short radius corners. The Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders therefore focused on fine-tuning the bikes in preparation for the race, finishing the day in 16th (Bautista, 1’32.014) and 17th (Bradl, 1’32.206) place. In the second session, both made significant improvements on their times compared with the morning session.
ALVARO BAUTISTA
“This weekend is a special occasion for us. The (RED) bike is beautiful and it is for a very important cause to which we want to contribute by providing visibility, hopefully with a good result too.
This track has tight corners where it is not easy to turn the bike well. The cold also does not help us, but today we did a good job. We focused in particular on the front tyre, trying different solutions, and I think that we worked well on this aspect. On the rear, we had more problems to solve because we are lacking grip at maximum lean angle, so I am not coming out of the turns as fast as I would like to. But we have tomorrow to find the solution and improve, because after the nice results in recent races, we have a great desire to stay with the front pack”.
STEFAN BRADL
“This was a rather calm Friday. We worked well without any drastic changes. Overall, we are lacking a bit of speed, but there are no particular problems, we just need to improve on a few details. By analysing the telemetry data, we will certainly be able to identify the solutions to use tomorrow. On such a flowing track, the bike still is not turning as we would like it to so I have to force it. As for the tyres, I think that there are no big question marks on the choice for the rear, whereas for the front we need to test some more, although right now I prefer the medium. Going out on the track with this special livery is really nice, for a commendable initiative that I support 100%”.
