One of the
most legendary names in motor racing sponsorship
history, that of Italian airline Alitalia, a name
synonymous with the golden era of Lancia in rallying,
will reappear this year adorning the fairings of the
factory Aprilias contesting the Superbike World
Championship.
Aprilia Alitalia
Racing Team will be entering the 2010 World Superbike
Championship without hiding its ambitious goals. And yet
this is only the second season for both team and bike in
this highly prestigious and competitive world series
dedicated to motorcycles series production. The success of
last year is thanks to Max Biaggi and the all new four
cylinder Aprilia RSV4 which, during their first season in
2009, demonstrated a competitiveness which - even though the
arrival of this bike and Max Biaggi's return to Aprilia
after twelve years were both hotly anticipated events -
astonished everyone.
Now the
challenge begins again. Every one of the most competitive
opponents (seven different constructers are competing in the
SBK world championship, representing the best that the
motorcycling world has to offer) will be waiting for the
Aprilia RSV4 and its riders at the start line. This means
that the team can no longer count on being able to surprise
its competitors, who are now fully aware of the capabilities
of the Italian four cylinder. However, what the team can now
count on is a vital year of experience with both the
circuits and the bike.
Aprilia RSV4 enters the 2010 world championship with a
magnificent Tricolour livery representing the team's
partnership with Alitalia. This livery, which brings
together two prestigious and proudly Italian brands, is
evocative of legendary chapters in Italian motor sports
history, when teams flying the Alitalia colours won world
championships in disciplines ranging from rally to offshore
power boats.
Maurizio Roman,
Piaggio Group Director of Product Development and Strategy:
“Partnerships are often forged between brands and sponsors
that have very little in common, with no relation whatsoever
between their respective activities. Today, however, we are
witnessing one of those rare cases of an auspicious union
between brands that share many values. They share the same
Italianness and, above all, the same commitment to
technological advancement and excellence. Behind both are
companies that strive to elevate prestigious brands to new
heights, and which have made history in their respective
segments.
In the early days, the Aprilia logo featured a tricolour
capital A, which was strongly inspired by the graphic symbol
of the national Italian airline. Today we are truly proud
that Alitalia has chosen the fairings of the magnificent
Aprilia RSV4 as the canvas to continue its history as brand
involved to world class motor sports. It is a great honour
and opportunity for Aprilia to bear the colours of a
prestigious brand such as Alitalia and to represent its
values in the highly competitive arena of the world
Superbike championship”.
Leo Francesco
Mercanti, Director of Aprilia Racing & Product Development:
“It is cause for great pride for us to take part in a motor
sports season that sees three major Italian groups
represented on the starting grip in a world class
technological competition with all of the world's greatest
motorcycle brands. It is a challenge not just in terms of
sports, but also on a business and an industrial level, with
the image of an entire country at stake. We understand the
responsibility and honour of carrying a little piece of
Italy with us around the world. These are brands that have
written entire chapters in the history of Italian motor
sports: Alitalia did so with its fantastic wins in rallying,
the Eni-Agip group did it in Formula 1, and, naturally, the
Piaggio Group has done so - and continues to do so to this
day. We have a great tradition to uphold; it is a tough
challenge that comes after a 2009 season in which Aprilia
exceeded our expectations, proving its competitiveness with
three world MotoGP titles and surprising everyone with its
results in the Superbike series. These successes justify
great ambitions and expectations; to fulfil them will be a
great challenge. It is difficult to make predictions at the
beginning of a season, but we have prepared well for the
challenge, working hard and improving on every front.”
In 2009, there
were many expectations for Max Biaggi's return to Aprilia,
the marque with which he had won three consecutive world
championships in the 250 cc class from 1994 to ‘96. Now the
team is looking forward to seeing the results he manages to
bring home, in light of a debut season that demonstrated
both the potential of the bike and the ability of the Roman
rider to steer its development and take it to the top of the
leader board, right up to the win at Brno.
Max Biaggi: “The
presentation of a new season, of a bike with new colours, is
always very emotional for a rider - it's like witnessing the
birth of a living creature. It will be an honour to carry
these prestigious colours onto the circuits of the whole
world - a tricolour that will make both the bike and team
unique. We also have a new team member: Leon comes from the
tough British championship, and he certainly has all the
right cards to become the strong wingman that both I and the
team need.
Aprilia did a fantastic job in 2009, we made giant strides
from a technical standpoint, which were made possible by the
whole team and by the work that let the debuting RSV4 make
progress race after race. The win at Brno was just the
crowning moment of a continuous process of growth. Of
course, we were the great surprise of the 2009 season, and I
am really happy with the results; nobody could ever have
predicted that we would be so competitive at our debut,
nobody would ever have expected a fourth place season
finish. And yet I still feel as if the greatest
satisfactions are still to come, we haven't reached the top
yet - only a win will really crown it all for me. We are now
facing the forthcoming season armed with more knowledge,
more experience on the circuits and with the awareness of
our potential.”
The four times
World Champion will be joined on the grip by 23 year old
Englishman Leon Camier, in what is his season in SBK. Leon
comes fresh from winning the title of British Superbike
Champion, after dominating the 2009 season of his national
championship for production derived bikes with an incredible
18 wins out of a total 26 races.
Leon Camier:
“Being a part of this team, a part of the RSV4 project, is
an incredible opportunity for me. This championship will be
very tough, with extremely high levels of competitiveness.
I'll be racing against some outstanding, highly experienced
riders. This is why it is so important to be in a team like
Aprilia Alitalia, one of the very few that offer a rider
extraordinary opportunities in terms of developing the bike.
My first impressions of the RSV4 were phenomenal: it has
enormous potential and is a very quick bike. Now, I must
first get as much experience as possible to fully exploit
the potential that Aprilia puts in the hands of the rider.
It is a great challenge for me to learn how to develop a
bike and make it better. Everyone wants to win and everyone
sets off from the grid to win, but my first goal will be to
understand the bike and constantly improve my performance. I
think that we have already found the right direction for the
development of the bike, our goal now is to continue in this
direction and to improve together with the bike.”
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