Aprilia Australia

Double Podium for the Aprilia RSV4 Factory in France.

The sun was shining at Magny Cours to mark the second last round of the World Superbike Championship. 81,000 spectators flooded into the circuit in hope of some fantastic racing... and they were not disappointed.

Race One: Spies started off well from pole position followed by Max Biaggi on board his Aprilia RSV4 Factory, Jonathon Rea and Noriyuki Haga. Spies tried to pull away but the group of three were able to match his pace up until lap six when Rae was forced to retire from the race, the challenge of beating Spies then fell on to the shoulders of Biaggi and Haga.

As the race progressed Biaggi was able to stay with Spies whilst keeping an attack from Haga at bay, at the sixteenth lap mark Biaggi made an error which allowed the Japanese rider to pass. Biaggi tried to re claim the second position but he run wide and lost further ground to Haga and Spies. Biaggi settled for a third position finish making it his sixth podium of the season after last week’s win at Imola.

Leon Camier made his debut in World Superbike Racing by replacing the injured Nakano on the second Aprilia Factory bike, for the French round of the championship. Camier had a slow start to race one but by the mid way point was in excellent form and he was able to battle for sixth position with some very fast lap times. However with three laps remaining the Brit was forced to retire from the race.

“It was a very exciting race” said Biaggi. “I started off well, but Spies was pushing hard. During the second part of the race I had a good rhythm and the tyres were working well, so I tried to catch up with him. With five laps to go, I made a mistake which allowed Haga to pass me, and when I tried to rectify my mistake I went wide and lost a lot more ground I’m happy, the team did a great job and we have found an excellent foundation for Race 2.”

“I’m very happy," said Camier. "At the beginning of this experience, I didn't know what to expect, given that I had never ridden this motorcycle, now I realise that the RSV4's potential is impressive.”

Race Two: Biaggi started off well from fourth position and immediately took the lead, followed by Haga, Rea and Spies. However, by the end of the first lap it was the Japanese rider who assumed the lead and began to set a fast pace. Biaggi was able to match the pace of the Ducati and followed Haga with Rea right behind him. By the seventh lap of the race Rae made a move on Biaggi taking second position and relegating Biaggi to third however this was short lived. When it appeared Haga was breaking away at the half way point of the race Biaggi overtook Rae and set off in hot pursuit of the Ducati. With just five laps to go Biaggi had closed the gap between from Haga to just half a second, while the Honda of Rae was unable to match the two front runners pace and had to make do with third place. Biaggi seemed to be getting closer and closer in the first two sections of the track, while the Ducati lengthened the gap in the third. In the end, Haga crossed the line first followed by Biaggi and Rae.

Biaggi climbed atop the podium once again after his third place finish in Race 1 taking the grand total of podium finishes this year to seven.

Camier started off well in Race Two and for more than half the race he battled it out for sixth place with a group of competitors despite a few too many errors that forced him to remount each time. Unfortunately, during the fifteenth lap Camier was forced to retire from the race once again.

“I’m very happy” declared Biaggi. “It was a very difficult race; we were all quite fast and all on the same pace especially during the first part of the race. A stone broke my front fairing halfway through the race and I lost ground to check and make sure the radiator wasn’t broken, I then managed to get back on track and I tried to catch up to Haga during the final laps. It was a nice battle that we rode to the limit. We had an excellent race, we have developed a lot in these last few rounds, and after the first race we made some small changes that worked quite well. I dedicate this second place finish to my team, which is truly fantastic.”

“I used a different approach with the RSV4” said Camier, “which is quite different from the other bikes that I have ridden up until now. I changed my riding style and we worked a lot on the alignment, getting faster step by step, to the point that this morning during the warm-up I finished in fourth place with worn racing tyres. I started off badly in Race 1, and during the initial laps I was slowed down by some falls. When I got my rhythm I caught up to the group that was fighting for sixth place, but then I had to stop. I started off better in Race 2; I set a good pace and despite a few mistakes, I moved up to ninth place, but I had to pull out again. It was a very positive debut for me, and I’m sure things will go better in Portimao.”