Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri split a pair of victories at Monza but the most biggest news from the World Superbike weekend was a strange series of appeals after Race Two that saw Tom Sykes finish third, relegated to fourth and then reinstated on the final step of the podium.

The unusual mix-up occurred after Sykes, sitting in third place, ran off track and into the run off area on Turn 5 on his final lap. The Kawasaki rider returned to the track again in third place where he finished ahead of Aprilia‘s Sylvain Guintoli. After the race, Aprilia filed an appeal and race stewards initially assessed Sykes with a penalty, dropping him one-position and awarding third to Guintioli.

This morning however, Kawasaki appealed to the FIM Stewards’ Panel which analyzed the race footage and sector times for Sykes, Guintoli and second-place finisher Melandri and decided to reinstate Sykes in third. But that may still not be the end of it as Aprilia has five days to lodge another appeal, this time to the International Disciplinary Court which would then make a final decision. Continue Reading »

Tom Sykes earned his first win of the 2013 season and came a hair short of a double victory at the World Superbike Championship round at Assen in the Netherlands.

Traditionally a fast starter and qualifier, Sykes started on the pole once again at Assen and had strong starts in both races. But unlike the first two rounds where he started strong before fading, the Kawasaki factory rider was able to remain at the front in both races at Assen and earn some valuable championship points. Continue Reading »

BMW Motorrad Goldbet racer Chaz Davies scored his first career World Superbike double victory, taking both races at Spain’s Aragon circuit. The wins were the second and third of Davies’ WSBK career (the first came last year at Nurburgring for the ParkinGo Aprilia team) and the second ever double in the series for BMW.

The Welsh rider and former AMA Pro Racing competitor has had some success at Aragon, getting his first career WSBK podium at the Spanish track in 2012. Davies continued his good form, taking third in the Superpole to start on the front row. Continue Reading »

For a company with such a rich history in motorcycle racing including nine World Championships in the 250cc Grand Prix category, it comes as a bit of a surprise Aprilia does not already have a 250cc sportbike in production. From 1994 to 2007, Aprilia won nine 250cc Grand Prix championships with an impressive roster of riders which includes Valentino Rossi, Max Biaggi, Jorge Lorenzo, Loris Capirossi and Marco Melandri winning titles.

Despite making a name for itself racing in the 250cc class, Aprilia does not have a 250cc production sportbike to compete against the likes of the Kawasaki Ninja 250 (and its replacement, the Ninja 300) or the Honda CBR250R. Other manufacturers are getting into this segment, or reportedly have plans to as in the case of Triumph and Yamaha. Aprilia may soon join those ranks, with Indian website MotorBeam reporting Piaggio is developing a 250cc sportbike. Continue Reading »

The International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) has released an updated list of motorcycles homologated for the 2013 Superbike, Supersport, and Superstock racing season. Notable additions include the new BMW S1000RR HP4, the MV Agusta F3 and the Superbike-spec Ducati 1199 Panigale R.

To qualify a production-based racebike for FIM homologations, manufacturers have to meet certain production thresholds. Manufacturers must first produce 125 units ahead of a homologation inspection. After that, manufacturers have to produce a minimum of 500 units by June 30 and 1000 units by December 31 of the current year, and a minimum of 2000 units by the December 31 of the following year.

Production counts include both ABS and non-ABS versions of the same model, and at least 250 units of each version have to be produced. Production models must also be available for sale in either the U.S., Europe or Japan by the end of April of the current year to qualify. Continue Reading »

Aprilia opened a new chapter in its racing history, unveiling its team livery for the RSV4 for the 2013 World Superbike Championship. The 2013 season will be the first since the Italian brand returned to WSBK racing in 2009 without “the Roman Emperor” Max Biaggi who retired at the end of last season after winning his second title in three years on Aprilia’s flagship V4 sportbike.

Despite the departure of Biaggi, who is moving up to the broadcast booth to cover WSBK for Italian television, Aprilia hopes to remain a title contender with the returning Eugene Laverty and the newly-signed Sylvain Guintoli. Laverty finished sixth overall in the championship in 2012, his first with Aprilia, scoring a win and six total podium finishes. His familiarity with both the RSV4 and the team will help him this season.

Guintoli meanwhile will find stability with Aprilia after a turbulent season that saw him quit the controversial Liberty Racing team ahead of its home round and finish the season with the Pata Racing team. Drama aside, Guintoli has shown flashes of talent, winning races and earning podiums with both his teams in 2012. Continue Reading »

At October’s Intermot show in Cologne, Germany, Aprilia announced a number of upgrades to its RSV4 Factory, giving the sportbike more power, anti-lock brakes and a number of other updates. This week at the 2012 EICMA Show, Aprilia extended those updates to it’s slightly less upscale but still pretty damn good base model, the RSV4 R.

The production versions of Max Biaggi‘s World Superbike Championship-winning racebike, the Aprilia RSV4 R (all-black in these pictures) and the RSV4 Factory (pictured with red trim)  receive an engine upgrade to reduce internal friction and casing ventilation. Combined with a redesigned exhaust system, the result is a claimed output of 181.5 hp and 86.3 ft-lb. at the crank, compared to the previous year’s claims of 177 hp and 84.8 ft-lb. Continue Reading »

Max Biaggi will retire as a champion, announcing his decision to step away from the sport after winning his second World Superbike Championship by just half a point.

The man known as the Corsair and the Roman Emperor announced his retirement this morning at a press conference at the Vallelunga circuit near Rome, Italy. Biaggi ends his 21-year international racing career with six world championships, with four consecutive 250cc Grand Prix titles from 1994 to 1997 to go along with his 2010 and 2012 WSBK titles.

All but one of Biaggi’s titles were won on Aprilia machines with his 1997 250cc World Championship recorded on a Honda. By retiring now, Biaggi leaves on his own terms while still a competitive racer, turning down a contract extension with Aprilia. Continue Reading »

You would think carrying a 30.5 point lead into the final round of the 2012 World Superbike Championship would be a safe enough margin to win the title. Aprilia‘s Max Biaggi made it interesting, inexplicably crashing out of the first race at the finale in Magny-C0urs before scoring a fifth place finish in Race Two to give him a 0.5 point margin over Kawasaki‘s Tom Sykes to win the title.

The 358 to 357.5 point difference is the narrowest finish ever in WSBK. The final round capped off a season that saw Biaggi leading the points chase nearly the entire campaign despite looking very vulnerable at times through the season.

“This is the fourth world championship out of six that I have won at the final race, I seem to like difficult challenges!” says Biaggi. “The 2012 season went right down to the wire: we started well with a win at Phillip Island after totally renewing my team and we also had some difficult moments. We had to work hard to win the title, and maybe for this reason it’s even better. A big thanks to the Team, Aprilia and the Gruppo Piaggio, from President Colaninno to every factory worker, because my success is the result of the work of a great Italian company. Thanks also to my family, my fiancée and my two children, as well as Marino Laghi who is always present with me.”

Continue Reading »

Current World Superbike points leader Max Biaggi was on hand as Aprilia announced a number of updates to its RSV4 flagship sportbike at the 2012 Intermot show in Cologne, Germany.

The Aprilia RSV4 Factory returns with its impressive APRC electronics package and 1000cc V4 engine, but adds anti-lock brakes, and a larger fuel tank.

Aprilia also gave the RSV4 a performance boost, claiming 181.5 hp and 86.3 ft-lb. at the crank, both up from the previous model’s claims of 177 hp and 84.8 ft-lb. (our dyno test from our 2012 European literbike shootout measured 156.9 hp and 73.2 ft-lb.) Continue Reading »