THE ADVENTURE OF THE NEW RS 660 STARTS WITH A HAT-TRICK IN THE AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP

DE KEYREL, BARRY AND SCHULTZ TAKE THREE APRILIAS ON THE PODIUM IN THE OPENING RACE OF THE TWINS CATEGORY IN ATLANTA
A perfect start for the debutant Aprilia RS 660 in the Twins category of the MotoAmerica Championship. On the Road Atlanta circuit, three Italian motorcycles conquered the first three positions in a fierce grid of 23 contenders.

An extraordinary demonstration of strength that exalted the dynamic and engine qualities of the new RS 660. Especially considering that the teams had very little time to prepare the season and carry out tests with the brand new twin-cylinder from Noale, homologated in America just in time for the start of the championship. It is a dazzling start, in some ways unexpected, that places the RS 660 among the favorites for the final victory in the prestigious US championship.

Winner Kaleb De Keyrel, who started from the second position on the grid, gave the Robem Engineering team its first satisfaction, ahead of Jody Barry (Righteous Racing) and teammate Hayden Schultz.

"It was super fun - says the winner - really a good battle. To come here with virtually no riding on the new bike and already be so fast shows that I did my homework well. The Aprilia came out so close to the championship that we didn't have much time. I wouldn't be here without Matt Spicer and Gene Burcham and all of Robem Engineering who put so many hours into the Aprilia RS 660 and worked on everything to get it ready for the race. Obviously, I was involved in the championship fight last year but didn't win, so now I'm hungry to prove that I can stay out front and win races."

Aprilia RS 660, launched last October is revolutionizing the concept of sportiness, it is so light and effective between the curves that, while designed to be usable daily on the road, is capable of transforming itself with a few changes into an extremely fast and fun bike between the curbs. The dynamic qualities, the rigour of the frame, the reduced weight and the exciting performance of the new 100 HP twin-cylinder engine enhance the driving pleasure of a motorcycle that, after being one of the most eagerly awaited novelties, has proved to be fun and enjoyable, able to give emotions in every situation of use.

ALEIX ESPARGARÓ GOES STRAIGHT THROUGH TO Q2 FOR THE FOURTH TIME IN A ROW

HE’LL START FROM THE THIRD ROW IN THE SPANISH GP IN JEREZ

LORENZO SAVADORI IMPROVES HIS PACE BUT STILL PAYS THE PRICE FOR INEXPERIENCE IN QUALIFYING

The RS-GP improves and Aleix Espargaró confirms, once again in Jerez, that he is at ease in the top spots of the MotoGP standings. For the fourth consecutive time in as many race weekends, he goes straight through to Q2, thanks to the fifth-place time earned in the morning FP3 session with a fantastic time of 1’37.049.

In fact, two crashes in the FP4 session just a few minutes before qualifying forced him to change bikes for the decisive session. Aleix reacted extremely well, lapping only a few thousandths of a second off his time in the practice sessions and, with a time of 1’37.085, he took the centre spot on the third row of a starting grid characterised – as it usually is these days – by extremely narrow gaps between the top riders.

Lorenzo Savadori made clear progress in terms of pace, but had to pay the price of being a rookie in MotoGP during qualifiers. He finished with a time of 1’38.325 (but in FP3 he had lapped at 1’37.814) which places him on the eighth row of the starting grid for tomorrow.

ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"I don’t think the result in qualifying is entirely indicative. Today we once again demonstrated great competitiveness. In race configuration with used tyres, I think that only a few other riders have a pace better than ours. Unfortunately, we may still be missing a bit of power in qualifying to take full advantage of the soft tyre’s grip, but if we look at the gaps, we're really only talking about thousandths of a second. For the race, it will be essential to get a good start, which will allow us to gain a few positions in the early stages. After that, everything will play out based on tyre wear in the final laps. I'm not obsessed by the result. The thing that comforts me most is that we have been among the favourites for an important position every race weekend so far. This means that we’ve taken a clear step forward and that we are working in the right direction."

LORENZO SAVADORI
"Things went rather well overall today. In terms of pace, we were able to improve my feeling. On the other hand, I still need time to work on riding at the limit, for example in qualifying, where things get more complicated for me. It seems repetitive, but these bikes are extremely stiff and, compared to the factory derivative bikes, movements are far less accentuated. This doesn’t help me when I'm trying to find the limit and, given the high competitiveness of the championship, you always have to ride at 100%. The increased wind in the afternoon also didn’t help, as my crash in FP4 demonstrates."

The autojumble launched in 2019, was a true success and after a hiatus for 2020 due to the pandemic, Stratford Autojumbles are delighted to announce that they have secured sponsorship with RH Insurance again for 2021.

Both events will be making their return to Stratford-upon-Avon racecourse on June 13 and September 5 and are anticipated to build further upon their success achieved in their debut year in 2019.

Emma Airey, Head of RH, says: “To say we’re excited to attend Stratford Autojumbles this year is an understatement! This year’s event promises to be a welcome return for traders and visitors alike after so long away from the scene…we can’t wait!”

The team at Mortons have been working hard behind the scenes to ensure that both traders and visitors can enjoy the return of the events safely and have been delighted with the response on trade bookings and ticket sales so far.

With events such as this being on pause for such a long time, taking steps such as securing sponsorship is a positive move towards getting things back on track and is great news for the classic events scene all round.

Stratford Autojumble offers a vast array of parts, restoration services and related products for a variety of vehicles. Tickets for the events are on sale now and have been held at the bargain price of just £5 per adult.

www.stratfordautojumble.co.uk 

THE SPANISH RIDER IS THIRD AND HAS A GOOD PACE AT THE END OF THE FIRST DAY IN JEREZ

LORENZO SAVADORI IS ALSO LOOKING GOOD AS HE IMPROVES IN THE SADDLE OF HIS RS-GP


The good trend for Aleix Espargaró and his Aprilia RS-GP, already among the protagonists in the early races of the season, found confirmation on the first day of practice in Jerez.

Aleix finished the first two sessions comforted by his time, finishing third (1’37.646) and staying consistently in the top positions.

But he especially demonstrated an extremely consistent pace: Aleix was the only rider on the track to lap below 1’38 five times. His second run was spectacular with 1’37.9, 1’37.8 and 1’37.9, all in a row. He then finished his third run with a 1’37.6 and a 1’37.7.

In short, it was a good start that places him among the candidates to go straight through to the Q2 session tomorrow, decisive in defining the grid for the Spanish GP on Sunday.

Lorenzo Savadori closed out his Friday with the 19th best time (1,38.594), seven tenths of a second from the top ten. With such close standings, a sign of the great balance in the MotoGP championship, any progress at all is important and Lorenzo continues improving.

ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"It’s only Friday, but being fast right from the first lap is important. Especially looking at the pace in race configuration, I think I was one of the more competitive riders. Tomorrow I expect the track conditions to change and that could shake things up for everyone. In any case, there is no doubt as to our speed, even if I was unable to improve a lot in the time attack on the soft tyre. On a track like this one, overtaking is no simple thing, so our goal for tomorrow will have to be the first three rows at the very least."

LORENZO SAVADORI
"Today was a good day, despite the fact that I wasn’t able to make a difference on the soft tyre. These are things that are part of my growing process in this category. The positive thing is that we figured out where we need to make changes to improve more, so we’ll try already tomorrow."

Suzuki has shown the colour options available on its 2021 V-Strom 1050 and V-Strom 1050XT, with bikes arriving in dealerships now.

Launched last year, the range-topping V-Strom 1050XT – which comes complete with three selectable engine maps, traction control with three modes, lean angle-sensitive ABS with two modes, linked brakes with slope and load-dependent control and hill hold, plus cruise control – remains available in the popular orange and white, DR750-inspired livery, but for 2021 it is joined by a classy, steely grey with blue decals and blue and grey seat, completed by blue spoked wheels.

An updated yellow option also features, unashamedly influenced by the firm’s RM-Z motocross range, with a black tank and gold rims. Gold rims also feature on an otherwise all black version, bar subtle grey and gold decals.

The V-Strom 1050 – which uses the same 107PS V-twin engine and many of the same electronics features as the XT but swaps the spokes for cast aluminium wheels and loses the standard fit engine bars and hand guards to come in at £9,999 – is available in a bold red and black livery and a more subtle all black option.

The new-for-2021 colours on the V-Strom 1050XT also apply to the Tour edition, which adds black three piece aluminium luggage as standard with 112 litres of storage space. With an RRP of £12,799 it equates to a saving of £370 over the purchase of the individual items.

Visit bikes.suzuki.co.uk/bikes/adventure to find out more.