This is the best finish thus far for the Aprilia RS-GP which continues to improve race performance

Barcelona (Spain), 14 June 2015 – It was a weekend of hard work for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini with the changes tested during the week at Misano brought straight away to Barcelona setting a furious work pace for the entire team. It was an effort rewarded by Alvaro Bautista's great race, riding his Aprilia RS-GP to a tenth place finish and the best result thus far in this first part of the season.

Alvaro, who started from the seventh row, got off to an excellent start which allowed him to overtake several riders and immediately lock onto the central group which is the current race goal. He held the pace of the central group well and in the final laps he engaged in an exciting duel with Miller which, thanks in part to a few DNFs, resulted in the first top ten finish and 6 championship points. Marco Melandri had an unlucky race, delayed at the start and then forced to withdraw by problems with the gearbox in the seventh lap.


ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)

“Alvaro's great race is a good result that lifts our morale. There is a lot of work left to do to close the gap behind the leaders but if you think about the fact that we are racing with a bike which is a laboratory we are rather pleased with today. We see that we are improving race performance and we are often with the centre of the group. Races like this one make it clear which points we need to work on to close the gap behind the leaders. I feel bad for Marco who had a mechanical problem, but that's part of the experience we are building, given the amount of new things we are testing each time."

FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)

“In a race that promised to be very difficult Bautista battled with great determination, managing to win various battles with other riders. There were some DNFs but Alvaro managed to keep a good pace despite difficult conditions. I'm very pleased with the efforts being made in this project so my compliments go to him and the entire team. It's a nice result, important for morale and to keep progressing.”

ALVARO BAUTISTA

“After a good start which helped me make up a few positions I rode the first laps of the race trying not to be too aggressive in order to conserve the tyres. In fact, we knew that their performance would drop a lot. The track conditions were very difficult with not much grip so I couldn't push like I did in practice. In any case, today we saw a lot of crashes so making it to the finish was important. We made it and we are pleased because we were able to gain more experience with the bike and other valuable data to improve in the coming rounds. In the finale I had fun battling it out with Miller. I felt like I was faster than him and in the end, after overtaking one another several times, two laps from the end I managed to pull ahead a bit to finish in the top ten.”

MARCO MELANDRI

“I had a setup that was different than usual and I was hoping to take a step forward, but unfortunately hard luck reared its ugly head with a problem in the gearbox between third and fourth from the first lap. Anyway, that's normal considering the fact that this is only the second GP for the seamless gearbox. We'll see about continuing the work we weren't able to complete today in the tests tomorrow. Congratulations to Bautista for finishing in the top ten. That's a good sign for everyone.”

Around 500 Veteran and Vintage motorcycles will ride out together when the Heritage Motor Centre hosts the nostalgic Vintage Motor Cycle Club Banbury Run on Saturday 21 June. Visitors will be able to see the motorcycles start and finish at the Museum. The event, now in its 67th year, is the largest gathering of pre-1931 motorcycles & 3-wheelers in the world.

The Banbury Run is aimed at those who enjoy the thrill of riding with other Vintage, Veteran & Pioneer bikes. In addition to the Run, there will also be Club and Trade Stands, over 100 Autojumble pitches and special interest displays.

Tom Caren, Show Manager for the Heritage Motor Centre stated “The Banbury Run is a great day out for those participating and those watching the bikes. Seeing hundreds of vintage motorcycles ride together is a spectacle not to be missed!”

The Museum will be open from 10am – 5pm with the Banbury Run beginning at 10am. Riders will start at 5 per minute. Tickets for the Run cost £6 in advance or £8 on the day for adults, children and concessions and £25 for a family on the day.

For more information about the Heritage Motor Centre please visit www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk or call 01926 641188.

The 2015 Isle of Man TT races drew to a close yesterday with Honda Racing’s John McGuinness storming to victory in the Senior TT race aboard the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP. Team-mate Conor Cummins crossed the line in sixth.

The six-lap battle originally got underway in perfect conditions at 12.30, however a red flag incident on the second rotation meant the race was restarted at 14.45 and shortened to four laps of the 37.73-mile Mountain course.

On a mission from the start, McGuinness had claimed the lead by the end of lap one and in a superb display of his renowned skill around the Isle of Man TT, he proceeded to increase the gap sector by sector. After a super-slick pit stop by his crew at the halfway point, McGuinness had opened his lead to 12 seconds.

During the epic race, the ‘Morecambe Missile' broke the outright Senior TT lap record with a 132.701mph lap and was just a fraction off a sub 17-minute lap. He crossed the line in first place, 14.214 seconds ahead of James Hillier in second and Ian Hutchinson in third. The victory is McGuinness’s 23rd TT win and his seventh in the Senior TT.

Honda Racing team-mate Cummins put in a solid performance following some adjustments to his machine before the re-start. After a tough start, the ‘Ramsey Rocket' found his rhythm by lap three and managed to catch up with the leading pack to finish sixth.

It’s been another successful Isle of Man TT for Honda, with four race victories (in the Superbike, Senior and Sidecar races) secured on Honda machinery, taking the manufacturer's tally of TT wins to 176. Honda also received the manufacturer's trophy for another year.

John McGuinness

Today was a new day. I’ve been struggling a little this week, which is no-one's fault. I have been slow off the line and losing a bit of time, and I needed to find the form I had a few years ago.

In the restart I didn’t want James Hillier to catch me, so off the start I gave it my all, got my head down and pushed as hard as I could. Lap two I really did give it everything I could and the reaction coming in to the pits was amazing – it felt like it did when I broke the first 130mph lap. My team got me through the pits perfectly and going into the third lap the reaction from the crowd was great and I did think I’d taken the outright lap record.

I’d like to say a huge thanks to the marshals and the medics out there around the course, who do a fantastic job, and of course to my team and Honda for believing that it was still possible. Riding round the Isle of Man with a 17-second lead felt pretty special!

Conor Cummins

I had a better race today and it’s safe to say it was an electric pace over the four laps. We made an adjustment to the Fireblade after the red flag, which made things a lot better, but it took me some time to adjust and the pace was so fast. I did my best and my team put a lot of work in to make things better for me out there. The last two laps I started to pick up my pace and was making up time. I’m happy with my race and huge congratulations to John for his win - he rode a great race. Also, thanks to Honda for giving me a great bike to ride around here.

Neil Tuxworth

What a great day for John, the team and of course Honda to win what I suppose is the most iconic race of the week, the Senior TT. John rode superbly and, as I told him, he’s still the man who holds the race record round here on that bike and I knew he had the ability to win the race if he set his mind to it. It was obvious he was in the right mindset today. On lap one when he got to Glen Helen we knew he was fighting for a win and I’m just so pleased for him. He’s been a bit down on himself this week and lost a bit of confidence, which he didn’t need to do, as he’s very strong, along with the CBR and the team. Our lads did an excellent job in the pits and pulled about 10-seconds back. We're so pleased it was a superb performance an d we’re over the moon for him.

Conor started off a little bit slow but became very strong towards the end and was making up time. A sixth place is very good, the pace was very hot in that race and his average speed was nearly 130mph and he finished in front of some very good riders. To have both machines come home is fantastic.

John McGuinness took his 23rd TT victory shattered Bruce Anstey's outright lap record from last year's Superbike race with a sensational speed of 132.701mph as he came home 14.2s clear of James Hillier in the PokerStars Senior race with Ian Hutchinson in third. The victory came after the original race was red flagged on the second lap and a shortened four lap race was restarted at 2.45pm.

The Honda Racing rider took the lead from Hillier at the Bungalow on the opening lap and when Hutchinson made a mistake at Signpost Corner just before the solitary pit stop, he was able to pull away for his seventh Senior race victory.

At Glen Helen first time around, Hillier was again in the lead but it was close with McGuinness only eight tenths behind and Hutchinson just a tenth adrift of the Honda rider. Anstey was holding onto fourth ahead of Johnson and Dunlop but Martin had a really poor start and was way down in 13th place.

By Ramsey, Hillier still led but his advantage was down to six tenths of a second and it was now McGuinness in second with Hutchinson down to third, four tenths further back. Anstey was in fourth with two seconds covering the leading four with Dunlop now in fifth and Hickman sixth.

An opening lap of 131.850mph - the fastest ever from a standing start - gave McGuinness a 1.2s lead over Hutchinson with Hillier back to third, a further 1.8s back. Anstey, Dunlop and Hickman filled out the top six, the latter having posted his first ever 130mph+ lap, with Martin getting going in seventh.

McGuinness added half a second to his lead as they swept through Glen Helen for the second time with the top five remaining the same although Martin had moved up to sixth ahead of Hickman. The lead was back up to 1.9s at Ramsey although Martin was now up to fourth, tucking in behind Hutchinson on the road.

A stunning, new outright lap record of 132.701mph gave McGuinness the lead and the gap had shot up to 10.9s as Hutchinson overshot at Signpost. Hillier remained in third but he was only 0.6s ahead of Martin as the Tyco BMW rider also broke the old outright lap record with a lap of 132.398mph. Anstey was now in fifth and Dunlop sixth and in an astonishing lap, the first 11 riders all lapped at more than 130mph.

The order remained the same at Glen Helen on lap three and McGuinness had added almost a second and a half to his lead. Hutchinson, in turn, was over five seconds clear of Hillier who had also edged away from Martin also to the tune of five seconds but Dunlop was slipping back and was now in eighth.

The Morecambe Missile added another second on the run to Ramsey and as he started his final lap around the Mountain Course, his advantage over Hutchinson was an impressive 17.5s. Hillier was a further 6.6s in arrears and he was coming under serious pressure from Martin once more with the difference between the duo now just 2.5s.

McGuinness was in full control of the race and all eyes were on the battle for second now as Hillier took over the second podium position at Ballaugh, extending his gap to Hutchinson to four seconds as they rounded Ramsey Hairpin for the final time.

It was all about McGuinness though and the Honda man duly came home for his 23rd TT victory, equalling the seven Senior TT wins of Mike Hailwood. Hillier completed his excellent week in second, also lapping inside the old lap record at 132.414mph, with Hutchinson holding onto third from Martin.

Dunlop - whose final lap was 132.515mph - and Cummins took fifth and sixth as Anstey faded to eighth and so it was Hickman who took seventh. David Johnson finished ninth and Michael Rutter tenth.

Hutchinson had the consolation of winning the overall Joey Dunlop TT Championship and with Dan Cooper finishing in 17th place, he secured the TT Privateer's Championship.

James Hamilton was the rider involved in the incident and he was taken by airmed to Nobles Hospital where his condition was described as serious but not considered life threatening.

Barcelona (Spain), 12 June 2015 – On the Montmelò Catalan track the practice sessions for Sunday's GP got underway. The Aprilia RS-GP bikes ridden by Alvaro Bautista and Marco Melandri are on the track.

Aprilia Racing Team Gresini also had a midweek track session with tests that Bautista conducted on Wednesday at the Misano circuit. Some of the solutions the Spanish rider tested were brought to Barcelona in keeping with the “test season” spirit that characterises the Italian team's year.

Bautista finished today's free practice sessions with the 21st best time (in 1’43,463), placing just behind a group of riders who are all grouped within a few tenths of a second of one another, so Saturday will be decisive in trying to gain positions. Melandri was lagging a bit behind, finishing in 25th place with a best time of 1’45,270.

ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)

“These were two very demanding sessions in terms of bike setup. Barcelona is a very complex track but toward the end of the session we made significant improvement with Alvaro, also trying some of the solutions we had tested at Misano. We'll use some others tomorrow with the goal of increasing grip to the rear, which is currently our most important objective. Marco was also feeling a general instability with the bike, so we have a few different solutions there as well that we'll try on the track Saturday.”

FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)

“Today Alvaro worked a lot with his mechanics as usual. He rode in the morning session with the new frame he had tested at Misano before coming here to Barcelona and then he focused on the one he had been using up to now. He also improved his times in the afternoon, moving up in the positions. There are still a lot of little things that need to be improved for tomorrow and hopefully we will go down the right path so that they can work together in the best possible way for us to keep progressing.”

ALVARO BAUTISTA

“This was an important day because we wanted to try the frame we had tested at Misano straight away. I found some advantages there, but here the difference wasn't quite as clear, so obviously it depends on the circuit. Now we need to improve above all in the braking sections and we need more grip on the fast turns.”

MARCO MELANDRI

“Today we worked on the setup and we had some difficulties, especially in terms of grip. So tomorrow we'll try to make a few changes to the frame geometries, trying to reach a higher level of confidence with the bike.”