News

The Milwaukee Aprilia World Superbike Team completed their first full day of testing on Monday 21^st of November at the Circuito De Jerez. The day was hampered by rain, but that didn’t stop Eugene Laverty and Lorenzo Savadori from getting in as many laps as they could of the Andalusian circuit on their Aprilia RSV4’s.

“It was a really good day for us, considering it was consistently wet,” said Shaun Muir, Team Principal. “It was good to get the team working together straight away. The factory have brought some really interesting upgrades on the chassis and engine specs for us to try, and it’s really important for us to get to grips with them to help the direction of the 2017 bike.
Eugene had his first experience on the wet Pirelli tyres, and he had a good feeling from them straight away which we were pleased with. We weren’t chasing lap times but he was setting some good times and did as much as he needed to, to focus on set-up.
It was also a good day for Lorenzo to get on the bike after not testing at all in 2016. He tried a few set-ups and we’ve managed to find him a good balance which he is happy with, and he managed to get around 35 laps in, which is great experience for him.”

With a clear focus on system checks and consistent riding instead of outright lap times, the team made their first steps in preparing their 2017 Aprilias for the challenge that lies ahead.
Testing continues today, on Tuesday the 22^nd of November, where the team will be hoping for dry conditions to build on Monday’s development.

“It felt really nice to be back on the RSV4,” stated Laverty. “I was surprised how quickly it felt like being at home on it, and even though it was constantly wet, it felt like my bike again. We didn’t aim for race pace today, but my times weren’t that far off here at Jerez which was pleasing.
It’s been great working with the new team, and I’m blown away by how professional the team are. We have some key Aprilia staff here who know the bike as well as I do, and we clicked right away.
I also got to know my new team mate Lorenzo a little bit which is good, and we’ve talked about our experiences with the RSV4 and how to work with it. We went through everything pretty quick yesterday even though it was wet, but we’re definitely hoping for some dry track time on Tuesday, which is the most important thing.”

Savadori added, “It has been great for me to get on the bike again so soon. Yesterday was difficult because of the rain, but the feeling of the bike was good even in the wet. I enjoyed working with the team, and I feel very lucky to be in this team. They work really hard, and it was good for me to learn how they work and what we can do.
I am very happy to have Eugene as my team mate. He has a lot of experience and is a really fast rider, and he knows the bike and team very well. I think we will work well together and hope we can compare some useful information.

The Milwaukee Aprilia World Superbike Team are back on track today for day two of testing in Southern Spain, with weather conditions still forecast for rain until midday.