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WSBK 2017 – ROUNDS 6-7-8

MILWAUKEE APRILIA CONQUERS MORE VALUABLE POINTS AT LAGUNA SECA: LAVERTY AND SAVADORI MAKE THE FIRST EIGHT IN RACE 2. THE BEST RESULT OF THE SEASON COMES FROM THE PREVIOUS ROUND IN MISANO: EUGENE 5TH AND SAVADORI 6TH IN RACE 2

BOTH RIDERS PUT IN A SOLID PERFORMANCE AT THE AMERICAN ROUND, THE EIGHTH IN THE SEASON.

THINGS WENT EVEN BETTER IN ROUND 7, ON THE ITALIAN RACETRACK AT MISANO, WITH THE TWO APRILIA RSV4 RF RIDERS SCORING THEIR BEST RESULTS FOR THE SEASON.

THE NEXT RACE, AFTER THE SUMMER BREAK, IS IN GERMANY, AT THE LAUSITZRING CIRCUIT, 18-20 AUGUST 2017.

Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca, USA, 7-9 July 2017 – Milwaukee Aprilia riders Eugene Laverty and Lorenzo Savadori delivered solid point-scoring performances in Race 2 at Laguna Seca, coming home in P6 and P8 respectively. Eugene made a rapid start from P10, taking the fight to his rivals and battling hard with Melandri and Camier as he made his way through the field. After passing Mercado on lap 4 for 7th, he began to chase down Torres before the Spanish rider crashed out at turn 1. Finding a comfortable groove with his Aprilia RSV4 RF, he was closing down on Fores in 5th place, but ran out of laps before he could make his move.

Lorenzo joined Eugene on row 4 for the race start in P12. After a steady getaway he got stuck into the midfield fight for points, racing close behind his teammate and Camier. With improved grip in the front after a trying Race 1, Lorenzo set a consistent pace and managed his tyres well. After problems for riders ahead of him, Lorenzo tried hard to chase down Mercado for 7th, but ultimately settled for 8th place and 8 valuable points.

The WorldSBK series now heads into its summer break. The team will return to the track at Lausitzring in Germany at the end of July for a two-day test, ahead of Round 9 at the same circuit in August (18-20). With a busy schedule for the important test, they will work hard to further hone and improve the RSV4 RF ahead of the final five race weekends of 2017.
Mike Shanley, Team Manager:It's been a positive day for the team and a much improved race after yesterday's result. There were a few changes for both riders overnight and it was a solid, strong performance from them. It was good for us to start a race and really move forward in it. It was tough yesterday after the pace we showed in free practice, but today showed that we are making good progress and have some really useful data to work with. We have an important test coming up at Laustizring in a few weeks, and that will shape the back-half of the season for us. We can go into the summer break on a positive note, and look to come back strong for the last five.

Eugene Laverty, bike no. 50. Grid 10th. Race 2: 6th, 10 points: “It was a positive result today considering that we had to start from P10, and the reverse grid rules didn't help us this time. I had some good scraps and I felt pretty comfortable on the bike. The big improvement today was the front tyre; yesterday there was some problem with it that wasn't normal, but today it functioned correctly and I was able to push a lot more. Perhaps 5th would have been on the cards if we'd started higher, but I still think that was our best race of the year. Heading to the test at Lausitzring we have a good basis from here to work with. The improvement on the front was a big benefit as we showed here in free practice, and our aim is to take another big forward step with the RSV4 RF.”

Lorenzo Savadori, bike no. 32. Grid 12th. Race 2: 8th, 8 points: “I'm quite happy with the result today. Even though P8 is not where we want to be, I was able to set some quick and consistent laps. When I caught the other riders I could stay in their rhythm, but I still found it hard to pass them. We need to focus on the positives from this weekend. On Friday I struggled with the bike and rhythm, but we found some improvements and step by step I know that we can be even better for the next race. We have a lot of work to do for the test at Lausitzring. There are some areas that we have struggled with recently that we need to make better, and I know that the team are working very hard to make sure we can improve for Germany.”
Milwaukee Aprilia and Race 1 at Laguna Seca. Milwaukee Aprilia managed to recover 6 points from a disappointing Race 1 at Laguna Seca, with a 10th place finish for Lorenzo Savadori and a retirement for Eugene Laverty. The Superpole sessions showed promise for the team, Lorenzo producing a strong display to go quickest in Superpole 1 session and join Eugene in the pole position shootout. Eugene, having run strongly in the free practice sessions, ended Superpole 2 at P5 on the grid, his best qualifying result of the year. Lorenzo eventually finished P10, after a mistake cost him time on his quickest lap. Eugene made a strong start in the race, maintaining his 5th position behind the frontrunners. However an issue with his front tyre caused him to lose grip and feeling, and eventually resulted in him crashing at turn 3 before the half-way mark. Lorenzo made a steady getaway, holding his own in the midfield and scrapping with the likes of Torres and Camier. With his own front grip issues, he was able to consolidate his place in 10th and take home 6 points for the team.

PREVIOUS ROUNDS

RESULTS ROUND 7, MISANO WORLD CIRCUIT, ITALY, 16-18 JUNE 2017: Eugene Laverty, bike 50. RACE 1: 6th place, 10 points. RACE 2: 5th place, 11 points. Lorenzo Savadori, bike 32. RACE 1: 9th place, 7 points. RACE 2: 6th place, 10 points.


RESULTS ROUND 6, DONINGTON PARK, UK, 26-28 MAY 2017: Eugene Laverty, bike 50. RACE 1: withdrew. RACE 2: 7th place, 9 points. Lorenzo Savadori, bike 32. RACE 1: 12th place, 4 points. RACE 2: 13th place, 3 points.

(Photos source: milwaukeeaprilia.com; facebook/milwaukeeaprilia).

INFO:

www.milwaukeeaprilia.com
www.aprilia.com