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The partnership between Aprilia Racing and SMR (Shaun Muir Racing) is fast becoming a big talking point ahead of the 2017 WorldSBK season. In collaboration with the SMR-run Milwaukee team, Aprilia will make its return to the championship as a full factory effort for the first time since the end of 2014.

Aprilia Racing Manager Romano Albesiano shares the latest with WorldSBK.com.

Romano, what was the thinking process behind returning to WorldSBK as a full Factory entrant?
We never really stepped out of World Superbike. Over the last two seasons, we have had a different level of participation, but the bike has still showed over these two years that it is very competitive. We have found this opportunity to co-operate with the Milwaukee team and we decided to give them the support that they deserve. They have a very professional, positive and winning approach, so we will give them some factory support and we believe that, with the team they build up, it will be possible to be very high up in the results.

How will the RSV4 have changed by the time it lines up on the 2017 grid?
The bike that is racing this year has had no development since 2015. For next year, we will put some effort into this and do some development, also using some know-how we have achieved from working in MotoGP. Of course, we cannot do exactly the same things (we do in MotoGP), but there are some ideas we can apply.

Lorenzo Savadori and Eugene Laverty are set to make up a classic line-up of WorldSBK youth and experience…
It is a fantastic team. Eugene is Eugene. He was so close to the title when he was racing for us previously and left a fantastic memory in every part of the team. We are very, very excited to have him back again. He will also do some testing activity for our MotoGP project, so it will be a very good system for next year. In the same way, Lorenzo is Lorenzo. He is a fantastic rider and a fantastic person. We love him very much. He is incredibly fast. What he has done this year is, I think, unbelievable. We are expecting him to be in the big fight for the win next year. We have two riders who are able to win and be stay very high up towards the front.

How do you gauge general interest in the Aprilia RSV4 within the racing world?
It was one of my first goals when I came to the racing department of Aprilia. We really want to see the RSV4-based bikes spread around racing as soon as possible. It is such a fantastic bike; a few years ago you would hardly ever see an RSV4 around at local races or national races, but now we are pushing more and more to spread the bike and to allow people to have the RSV4 experience, which is something very special. We have been very successful. We have good riders in Superstock racing and in endurance racing. It’s a very nice part of the job.

Romano Albesiano was speaking exclusively with WorldSBK.com