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Category: Moto GP
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APRILIA FLIES TO TERMAS DE RIO HONDO IN ARGENTINA
It will be the 4.8 kilometres of the Argentinian Termas de Rio Hondo track hosting the second round on the 2018 MotoGP calendar. A fast track (more than 170 km/h average) with plenty of treachery, especially in terms of grip conditions. The weather forecast, with a chance of rain, contributes to increasing the uncertainty expected from the South American round.
This is an exam that Aprilia is tackling with renewed ambitions, comforted by both the potential of the new 2018 RS-GP and by the wide margins of improvement shown in Qatar.
ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"We need to keep working. In Qatar, the feeling in the race was rather good before the problem in the end that kept us from a top-10 finish that was well within our reach. I am confident because we confirmed our strong points, especially over race distance, whereas we have room to improve our flying lap in qualifying. We are at the beginning of the season. We have set some ambitious goals for ourselves which will certainly not be easy to confirm, but we have all our papers in order to have a good season."
SCOTT REDDING
“The sensations after Qatar were not the best, but I am sure that we will be able to solve the problems that came up in the race. The RS-GP worked well up to that point, so apparently we missed something and that is what we will focus on in Argentina. With so many new components introduced on the 2018 RS-GP, it becomes essential to analyse the data and the bike's reactions carefully in order to create a working base that can then be dialled in as the weekend progresses."
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ESPARGARÓ STOPS WITHIN A SHOUT OF THE TOP TEN
SCOTT REDDING TWENTIETH IN HIS DÉBUT RACE ASTRIDE THE RS-GP
A fuelling problem stopped Aleix Espargaró on the final lap, just as a good placement in the top ten was within reach.
In the second half of the race, Aleix had found a good pace, moving up several position, thanks in part to a couple of crashes by riders ahead of him. At the start of the final lap, he had caught up to Miller (tenth) and Iannone (ninth) with a good chance of overtaking them, considering the significant difference in pace. However, precisely during the last lap, a fuelling problem silenced the V4 in the number 41 Aprilia. In any case, Aleix managed to cross the finish line (in 19th place), but he had already lost his chances for the good result.
In his first race astride the Aprilia RS-GP, Scott Redding had to reckon with grip problems and was unable to move up from the rear guard, finishing twentieth.
ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"Despite the result, I am satisfied with the way I managed the race. I gave 100%, using a very conservative map straight away and managing in any case to maintain a good pace. I hoped to be able to use the more aggressive map in the race finale, where we know that we are faster, but that wasn't possible. During the final lap I was about to attack Miller and Iannone, but some fuelling problems cost me a lot of positions. A ninth place finish in these conditions would have been an important result. We need to work together to solve this problem, without which I am convinced that we would have been able to battle in the group of the best 5-6 down to the end."
SCOTT REDDING
“I can't be pleased with the way the race went today. From the start I had poor grip on the rear and then at the end of the race things started working, so much that I did my fast lap on the last lap. Right now I am struggling to understand why. We need to analyse the data and it is most likely a problem that we did not have during the tests. Now we need to start working straight away to improve in view of the upcoming races. We know that our potential is greater than what we demonstrated today, but evidently we are missing something.”
ROMANO ALBESIANO - APRILIA RACING MANAGER
"This was a rather troubled weekend because of grip that came and went - extremely particularly tyre use conditions. These were very different conditions from last year as well as from those in the last pre-season tests. Even if we are still lacking something, we found a good solution with Aleix in the race, but we had a fuelling problem just as we were about to bring home a good top ten finish."
FAUSTO GRESINI - TEAM MANAGER
"It's a pity about a problem like that right in the last lap that frustrated all the hard work done by the riders, Aprilia and the entire team. We still need to get to know this new bike well, but I think it has huge potential. This complicated the entire weekend but, given the way Aleix's race finished after a brilliant comeback ride, I'd say that we were also a bit unlucky. It was a difficult weekend, but the bike has improved a lot and I am sure that we are not far behind the leaders. We know that we still need to make an effort, but we have a whole championship season ahead of us."
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GOOD SENSATIONS FOR ESPARGARÓ AND REDDING ON THE SECOND DAY OF TESTS
In the Aprilia garage, the work programme is divided, but the sensations at the end of the second day of tests in Qatar are similar. In fact, both Espargaró and Redding are satisfied with the way the tests are going, the last ones before the season opener.
Espargaró went out on the track with different chassis settings looking for more confidence on the Losail asphalt and his feeling at the end of the day satisfied the Spanish rider. Tomorrow Aleix will work toward improving, especially in braking and acceleration, before doing a race simulation long run.
This is a simulation that Scott Redding did toward the end of the session today, completing about 15 laps with excellent times and consistency. The new entry in the Aprilia camp confirmed the quality of the Italian V4 in terms of proper tyre wear management, able to use a soft tyre on several laps without evident signs of deterioration.
ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"We have to be happy. We are making progress and working hard. I still don’t feel like I’m at my best braking, but overall I am satisfied with the way the tests are going. We are struggling to take full advantage of the new tyre for a fast lap, but we are competitive in terms of pace. I am very curious to see my race simulation tomorrow and what the others will do in order to have a more concrete idea of what our potential could be over race distance. As for what we’ve seen up to now, and counting on improving more, I think that we will be able to demonstrate a good pace."
SCOTT REDDING
"Today we weren’t focusing on lap times, but we worked to prepare for the final long run. I had done one in Thailand that did not satisfy me, whereas here, despite starting later than race time, things went rather well. The times and the easy ride satisfied me, although there is still work to be done in order to increase the edge grip. I used a soft tyre on the rear, which is new for me, and I was surprised at how good condition it was in at the end and how my feeling improved lap after lap."
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APRILIA HONES THEIR WEAPONS IN THE WIND TUNNEL
The 2018 is by now just around the corner and preparations are underway in earnest in the Aprilia Racing Department to refine the new RS-GP before the Championship opener. One of the development steps, after the new prototype made its début in the Sepang tests, concerns aerodynamics. This is a topic that has gained notoriety thanks to the appearance of winglets, a visible and obvious part, but one that is the subject of constant research.
Aprilia's work was conducted on a day of tests in the Perugia University wind tunnel and it involved both riders. Aleix Espargaró and Scott Redding tackled the aerodynamic tests upon their return from the tests in Thailand. The results of the tunnel findings are providing the base for the evolutions that will be applied to the 2018 RS-GP.
ROMANO ALBESIANO - APRILIA RACING MANAGER
"Aerodynamic research has by now become an integral part of development on a modern MotoGP bike. Not only in terms of the winglets, which are the most visible expression of it, but because on an extremely level playing field, every little detail becomes a determining factor. Aleix and Scott have extremely different physical characteristics which therefore require diversified aerodynamic refinements in order to optimise efficiency. The tests in the wind tunnel are just a part of the aerodynamics study, which also consists in computer simulations and checks that are conducted directly on the track. We will bring a first version of the aerodynamics package for the 2018 RS-GP to Qatar, whereas a second evolution will be planned once the season is underway."
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Talented youngster Adam Mclean will have a full complement of machinery for the 2018 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy and the other international road races in 2018 having signed for quinnestheprinters.com by Team IMR.
The Ulsterman will campaign a BMW S1000RR in the RST Superbike and RL360º Quantum Superstock TT Races and a Yamaha YZF-R6 in the Monster Energy Supersport Races with the team having recently purchased the ex-Ian Hutchinson 600cc machine from Raceways Motorcycles.
McLean will also have the use of the machinery for the other International races and selected Irish National road races and will continue to have the support of Roy Hanna Motors for the Lightweight class while he will continue to be supported by Metzeler tyres for his 2018 campaign.
The 21-year old has been a standout performer in the last two seasons, impressing in all of his races, especially at the International events where he has made a more than favourable impression, particularly in 2017 where he took a brilliant fourth in the second Supersport race at the North West 200 and third in the Ulster Grand Prix Supertwins race.
He also took sixth in the opening Supertwins race at the North West 200 and tenth in the first Supersport 600cc race at the Ulster GP, improving his quickest lap around the Dundrod circuit to 125.535mph.
The Magherafelt rider also made his debut at the Isle of Man TT races in 2017, winning the coveted Newcomers Trophy after finishing 18th in the opening Monster Energy Supersport 600cc race where he lapped at an impressive 120.644mph, the fifth fastest lap ever recorded by a newcomer on a 600cc machine, and won a silver replica. He was on course for a brilliant top ten finish in the Bennetts Lightweight race after lapping at more than 115mph before being forced to retire on the third lap.
McLean was a consistent front runner at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough, taking regular podium finishes in the Supersport and Supertwins races and finished third, fourth and fifth overall in the Irish Road Racing Supertwins, Supersport 600cc and Moto3 Championships respectively.
Adam McLean:
“I’m really looking forward to working with quinnstheprinters.com by Team IMR in 2018 and am very grateful for the opportunity. I’ll be riding top class machinery with a superb infrastructure behind me which will hopefully enable me to be successful and build on my 2017 results so I can’t wait to get going!”
Peter Bradley, Managing Director of quinnstheprinters.com commented;
"quinnstheprinters.com are delighted to be the title sponsor of Team IMR and we are thrilled the team has secured the services of Adam McLean for the 2018 road racing season. As part of the Bradley Group which has operations in England and the Isle of Man as well as a base in Northern Ireland, the company places a huge emphasis on supporting young local talent and we believe that with the right backing, Adam has the capability to achieve considerable success and build on his highly impressive 2017 season. We look forward to getting him on the bike during our Spanish testing programme in February and wish him all the best for a safe and enjoyable 2018 season.”
Jason Griffiths, Racing Manager, Metzeler UK said;
“It was a real pleasure to work with Adam this year in what was his breakthrough season. He obviously has great potential and at Metzeler we look forward to continuing our partnership with Adam and seeing him gain more experience at the International Road Races in 2018. When Metzeler started the Road Race programme in 2013 a young Dean Harrison joined us and we firmly believe Adam is capable of the same progression. Good luck to Adam and Team IMR with their new venture.”
Ian Moffitt, Team Principal of quinnstheprinters.com by Team IMR added;
“It’s fantastic to have signed Adam for the 2018 roads season. Given our initial focus on the British Championship and securing Chrissy Rouse and Jordan Gilbert for the Superstock 1000 BSB campaign, we feared we had missed out on signing a quality roads rider for 2018. However, having learnt that Adam was available and after a discussion with Peter Bradley, we were able to come to an agreement on running Adam at the International road races which is hugely exciting for the team.”


“Adam will have a full stable of bikes to compete in the Superbike, Superstock and Supersport clases at the NW200, TT and UGP with the use of our two 2017 BMW S1000RRs as well as Ian Hutchinson’s 2017 front-running Yamaha R6, which will all run on Metzeler tyres for whom we are very grateful for their support. Adam will also compete at some of the BSB and national road races throughout the season and we are extremely excited to be working with one of today’s most talented riders in road racing. We would not be able to do what we are doing without the support of all our partners but especially Peter and quinnstheprinters.com.”
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