AT ONCE GOOD PERFORMANCES FOR THE NEW RSV4 RF. SATISFIED THE RIDERS EUGENE LAVERTY AND LORENZO SAVADORI. FORWARD AUSTRALIA.
Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), 26 January 2017 – Milwaukee Aprilia have completed two days of testing at the Jerez circuit in Spain, finishing the day in 2nd place. As the team continues to make progress with the new generation of Aprilia RSV4 RF, the test focused on setup and verification of 2017 development parts ahead of further testing at Portimao later this week. Lorenzo Savadori, entering his second World SBK season, finished the day's running with a fantastic 2nd place just over 0.111s shy of the top. As he continues to hone the new Aprilia RSV4 RF to his style, the team are hoping to carry on the fast pace found today. Rider Eugene Laverty was hit by another rider on the entry into Turn 1, resulting in a crash, which finished his test early. Eugene will focus on recovery for the Portimao test this weekend.
Team Manager Mick Shanley: "It was a very bittersweet day for us in a way. Lorenzo is adapting really well to the team and to the 2017 RSV4 RF. We've worked through a lot of things with him so far and to finish second today is a really good result. He's achieved his personal best times here this week, and we've got a few new things for him to try. Eugene struggled with some chatter during the course of the day and we've been working through that. He slowed towards the end of a run and unfortunately got struck by another rider, which caused a crash and ultimately cut his test short. He'll recover in time for Portimao and we'll keep working hard to develop the bike for him. We'll have a good debrief tonight with the guys and put our plans into action, and we should be in place to head to Portimao in a good position".
LORENZO SAVADORI (bike no. 32): "It was a good day for me today, and we got lots of laps in which was really important. We tried a few different things with the setup and the tyres, and I was able to set a fast time and finish second. The track was cold during the day so it didn't always work so well with the tyres, but the bike ran well and we learnt a lot.
We still have a lot of work to do to reach the top of the field, but the team is working well and for me it is great to do some real testing. I'm hoping to learn a lot more at Portimao, and I will work hard to make some good progress before we start the season at Phillip Island."
EUGENE LAVERTY (bike no. 50): "It was unfortunate to crash today. I got hit from behind going into Turn 1, and there was nothing I could do. The bike got stuck under the barriers but the damage wasn't too bad. It's been a tough day and I've struggled with chatter going through corners, and I have to work hard to keep the bike stable.
It's useful to find issues like this early so we can work on them, and we have a few plans in place to address them. I should be in good shape again for the test in Portimao; I'm a bit sore but we just need to keep working hard and working through the issues we've had at Jerez".
Milwaukee Aprilia now head to the Portimao circuit in Portugal for two days of testing before final preparations to ship out to Phillip Island in Australia.
Portimao (Portugal), 20 January 2017 – Milwaukee Aprilia have completed their European pre-season testing at the Portimao circuit in Portugal. Pre-season testing started earlier this week with two days at the Jerez circuit in Spain, site of the Milwaukee Aprilia official team launch and the team's first chance to run the new generation Aprilia RSV4-RF.
Rider's Eugene Laverty and Lorenzo Savadori had a busy test plan to work through this week, focusing on bike setup and verifying new parts for the Italian machine. After finishing 2nd & 4th at Jerez on Wednesday, the team headed to Portugal looking to enhance their understanding of the Aprilia and make the most of their pre-season track time. Eugene, improving greatly throughout the test period, finished Sunday in P2 with a lap of 1'42.002, up on his 1'43.478 from Saturday. Lorenzo, a strong P2 on Saturday at Portimao with a 1.43.686, ended Sunday P3 with a time of 1'42.043. The team will now return to base to complete their preparations for the pre-race test at Phillip Island in Australia, followed by Round 1 of the 2017 WorldSBK championship.
Mick Shanley, Team Manager: "We've had a hectic test schedule to get through this week. The weather made things tricky for us at Jerez and Portimao, but the riders, team and Aprilia have worked incredibly hard to get through what we needed. It's been a successful test for us and I am happy that both riders were confident enough to finish 2nd and 3rd. We couldn't ask for much more from our first experience of the 2017 RSV4-RF. I believe Eugene and Lorenzo are in a good place to fight near the front when we start racing. We head to Phillip Island with our heads high and a positive attitude, knowing we have a bike both riders are comfortable with."
LORENZO SAVADORI, #32, 1'42.043: "It was a good day for us. I managed to do 73 laps and we have found a good direction to work in. The bike setup has got much better, and it's working well for me. I need to improve my feeling on the bike still and get a bit more confident, but I'm very happy with how the test went.
It's great for me and the team to finish in a good position here, because everyone is working well and we are very driven. I'm really excited for the season to start at Phillip Island next month. Its been great to get some good testing done on the RSV4-RF, and I think for sure we will be in a good place when we start racing."
EUGENE LAVERTY, #50, 1'42.002: “Today was a big improvement for us. I made good progress yesterday but I was still having to fight the bike, whereas today I was able to do a lot of laps and really get it feeling like my bike again. I feel like I can race with it now, and I felt comfortable on the race with the qualifying tyres. It's been a very productive two days, much better than Jerez, and we made big breakthroughs to resolve the chatter I was having.
I'm feeling confident for Round 1 at Phillip Island; we have a good base to work from and the team is working really well together. It's one of my favourite tracks to ride, and with another test there I think we're in a good position to really move forward."
INFO:
www.aprilia.com
