APRILIA PREPARES FOR A RETURN TO RACING

THREE DAYS ON THE TRACK AT MISANO FOR ALEIX, BRADLEY AND LORENZO

A first taste of the return to normalcy, albeit with all the precautions required by the COVID-19 emergency, saw Aprilia back on the track for three days of testing at Misano. While waiting to resume a World Championship that actually never really officially began, Aleix Espargaró and Bradley Smith shared the track in Emilia-Romagna with a few protagonists of MotoGP and the factory derivative series. One of them was Lorenzo Savadori, first busy with the development of the RSV4 1100 he’ll be using in the Italian Championship and then swinging a leg over the 2019 RS-GP on the third and final day.

This series of tests was fundamental, both to pick up the thread that had been interrupted after Qatar and to give the riders a chance to prepare physically for a rather intense calendar, which will have them busy from July through November with very few breaks. All this was under the summer sun of Misano, which allowed riders and technicians to take full advantage of the time available, but which also put their resistance to the test.

At the end of the three days, the best of the 183 laps Aleix turned stopped the clock at 1'32.932, the fastest of any rider on the track. On the other hand, it was 207 laps for Bradley Smith, who will be subbing for Andrea Iannone for the early laps on the calendar, with a best time of 1'33.536. Also noteworthy was a crash on the “sweeper” for the English rider, but without consequences.

ALEIX ESPARGARÓ
"After such a long stop, it was exciting to get back onto the track and I already can’t wait to go to Jerez for the first two races. Turning a lot of laps is fundamental for us. We have a totally new bike which, although born with great potential, needs to get some miles under it. We also know that Misano is not our favourite track, but in spite of that, at the end of the three days, we managed to achieve a good pace, confirming the positive impressions we had already had in Malaysia and Qatar."


BRADLEY SMITH
"I’m honestly pleased at the end of these tests. I had to make a physical and mental step to go from tester to rider and I think I managed, especially on this last day. Right now, it is fundamental for us to gain experience on this new bike, gathering data and understanding how it reacts. While the base setup proved to be good straight away in Malaysia and Qatar, there are still many aspects that we need to explore in order to exploit the full potential of the new project. On my part, I know that I still have room to improve and Aleix’s performance demonstrates as much, but the gap has shrunk and I feel much more at ease taking the 2020 RS-GP to the limit."


LORENZO SAVADORI
"It was nice to be back in the saddle of the Aprilia MotoGP bike. The sensations improve every time I get on it. My feeling improves with the tyres, with the bike, and with the brakes and I understand more and more which style to adopt to begin to exploit it. I turned more than 80 laps today and I am rather pleased from every point of view. We are growing with the RSV4 1100 that I’ll be using in the Italian Championship. We still need to figure out a few things, but we’ll be back on the track in a few days for the first race at Mugello. I lapped a lot over these three days, more than 900 kilometres, but physically I feel very well and this is also positive."


ROMANO ALBESIANO - APRILIA RACING TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
"These were important tests to define the starting point of our championship. We assessed the various chassis, engine and electronics solutions, in addition to breaking in a team that is brand new in many aspects. The riders needed this test as well to get back into the rhythm after such a long stop, and I must say that I saw them improving day after day. The decisions in view of Jerez have been taken. Many of the new features we had prepared worked well and I am rather pleased with the overall level of the bike. In any case, there is still a lot of work to do on the details, especially to increase overall reliability. We say it every year, but it isn’t wrong to do so: the level of the championship has gone up even farther and that pushes us to make an even greater effort."

• Limited edition motorcycle will provide all the thrills on track for 100 owners
• First deliveries of AMB 001 on schedule to take place at the end of 2020

24 June 2020, Gaydon, UK: The AMB 001 by Aston Martin and Brough Superior took to the track at Pau-Arnos in France recently to begin its comprehensive testing programme. Designed and engineered for the race track, the AMB 001 is strictly limited to just 100 examples and is on schedule for first deliveries at the end of this year. Adorned in the traditional Aston Martin Camo livery, the AMB 001 test mule completed its first test at Pau-Arnos.

The MotoE World Cup will kick also at Jerez de la Frontera, with Matteo Ferrari (Team Trentino Gresini MotoE) as the man to beat in this second electric season.

The MotoGP 2020 Calendar is finally out with the Gresini Racing Team that will be fighting in all the three category (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 Team & Kömmerling Gresini Moto3 Team) of the World Championship starting from Jerez de la Frontera on 19 of July.

Finally the Junior Team Total Gresini will look for glory in a shorter Italian Championship with four events (instead of six).

R1 Mugello (4-5 of July)
R2 Misano (25-26 of July)
R3 Imola (5-6 of September)
R4 Vallelunga (17-18 of October)

Every boy in his childhood dreamed of a motorcycle. And many adult men realize this dream. After all, a motorcycle is an amazing feeling of speed and freedom.

Yamaha V-Max: Flying Sledgehammer

Huge sizes, brutal design and amazing power. Thanks to these qualities, the Yamaha V-Max has become incredibly popular and has received the nickname "Flying Sledgehammer." V-Max was created in 1984, and in 1985 won the title "Motorcycle of the Year." This two-wheeled monster weighed 280 kg, had a capacity of 145 horsepower and accelerated to 100 km / h in 3 seconds. Its maximum speed is 250 km / h. For many years, the V-Max was the fastest production motorcycle in the world.The V-Max is capable of putting serious demands on the tyres.

Suzuki Hayabusa: Falcon Peregrine Falcon

This is how the word Hayabusa is translated from Japanese. The name of the model company Suzuki chose not in vain. First, the peregrine falcon is the fastest bird in the world; speed 290–325 km / h. And this motorcycle at the time of creation (1999) was the fastest in the world, accelerating to 312 km / h. In addition, peregrines hunt thrushes. But Suzuki Hayabusa received the title of fastest motorcycle from the Honda Super Blackbird. In this case, the word blackbird is translated as "blackbird". The irony is obvious. Such bird fights in the world of motorcycles.

Honda Gold Wing: sofa on wheels  

This is a motorcycle for long trips. He is considered the most comfortable representative of two-wheeled vehicles. For this, Gold Wing is called a "sofa on wheels" or even a "two-wheeled limousine." Comfortable seat, excellent wind protection, reverse gear, music player, spacious wardrobe trunks for things. It is also the only motorcycle in the world equipped with an airbag. 

BMW GS: on the roads and tracks

The motorcycle, which for 30 years remains the most popular in the tourist class of enduro. The abbreviation GS stands for Gelände / Straße - Off-Road / Road. Although in fact the BMW GS can not be called a full-fledged SUV, but it copes with bad roads. This is such a versatile tourist. By the way, on the motorcycles of this series, actors Evan McGregor and Charlie Boorman traveled around the world in 2004.

Harley-Davidson 42WLA: Liberator of Europe

The most legendary model of the legendary company Harley-Davidson - 42WLA. Moreover, it is famous not so much for technical characteristics as for history. This model was released in 1942-1945. During the war, the company did not create motorcycles for civilians - all cars were given to the needs of the front. They say that at the end of the war, the German border on the west side was first crossed by this particular motorcycle. For this he received the nickname "Liberator."

We have included since the launch of the website in 2009, Biker Friendly Cafes, Places and meets, where the list is mainly put together from visitor recommendations, with the owners confirming the details are correct.

We want our visitors to know we have looked at every place included, to see if we would ride there, park up and go inside. This is based on experience of travelling a distance to visit a so-called Biker Friendly cafe as part of a group. The cafe did not have parking at the venue and was actually in a paid for car park out of sight of the cafe. Half of group would not leave their beloved Motorcycles - even for a much needed cuppa!

We are aware that while a place MAY be Biker Friendly, they may not want to promote themselves as being this way, so we ask owners to clarify before they are included. IF we feel a place does not have sufficient parking on-site and/or nearby, we may choose to not include a place.

Attention Owners - Due to the large amount of places we include on THE BIKER GUIDE and as inclusion is predominately free, we need the owners of places to confirm the information we have is correct, by simply sending their information (name, address and bike related) via the form for inclusion, where you can confirm you are the owner. 

During the Covid-19 pandemic we will continue to publish the website and all information previously included for Biker Friendly Cafes and Meets. Due to the large amount of cafes closed and/or with limted opening hours and constrictions, we ask you to check with the cafe before travel.