After a rather long summer break the World Superbike engines roar to life once again as the series heads to Jerez for the tenth round of the season. The shortened calendar, with the cancellation of the Russian and South African rounds, makes the battle even more heated for the Aprilia Racing Team.

Sylvain Guintoli and Marco Melandri are determined to finish out the 2014 season with a bang. They will be able to count on the experience they have gathered at Jerez, the designed test track from the Italian team as well as on the great speed shown astride their RSV4 machines in recent rounds.

Sylvain Guintoli kept training during the break and took a chance to do few laps at Mallory Park to shake some rust off. The goal for the French rider is to pick up as many points as possible in this last leg of the season: “It’s been a long summer break but the focus is now 100% on performing at our best at Jerez. Every race and every point will be crucial, even more now that South Africa has been cancelled. We can still do it.”

New father Marco Melandri also found a way to ride during the break, as he had a lot of fun on a street RSV4 at Castelletto and Adria. The former 250cc World Champion from Ravenna is keen to continue fighting for victory after the strong results he scored recently, even if the Spanish battle is expected to be a very close one: “We are finally getting back on the track. The break was definitely too long! This is going to be a hot weekend considering the temperatures and two demanding races are expected. Jerez is one of my favourite tracks so I can't wait to feel that rush of adrenaline at the start. After winning the last round at Laguna Seca I'm sure that I'll be at my best on my RSV4, hoping to have a great weekend.”