While the Japanese were filming in Brno, the Europeans had taken up residence in Misano for tests with a view to improving the season's standard and preparing for the future. Among them, Aprilia, in the eye of the storm since the boss of the Piaggio group slammed his fist on the table the day after the Red Bull Ring.
And we pulled out all the stops with the servants of the RS-GP. Four drivers on the track with an eye on the times. The objective? Do not be too far from Ducati and ensure that the KTM RC16s, also present, are not too close. Because the Mattighofen firm does not hide its ambition to carve out croupiers from the Valencia Grand Prix to the second Italian brand entered.
Roman Albesian therefore studied the tricks of the holders Bradl et Baptist leaving for other horizons at the end of the season, Sam Lowes who is preparing his arrival for next year, and a Mike Di Meglio who did his part but who was not even entitled to a few words in the brand's official press release. Aprilia's voice is sometimes like that of the Lord: inscrutable.
Finally, it was a great opportunity to prepare for a San Marino Grand Prix which will take place on September 11. The Ducati's times were announced at 1'33.115 for the best Desmosedici of Iannone. At Aprilia, we would have been satisfied with a 1'34.00. For Baptist et Bradl, we worked on the chassis, electronics and tires to optimize cornering behavior. A new swingarm was included while, on the engine side, the essentials have already been given in Austria. The first did a total of 121 laps in two days compared to 117 for the second. With the final feeling of having gained something in braking stability.
Sam Lowes As for him, he familiarized himself with driving a MotoGP for 135 laps. Finally, Mike Di Meglio worked on the transmission, both on the clutch and on the gearbox itself. He also tested cooling solutions and some electronic innovations. What emerged from this will be applied at the next meeting on the calendar, in less than two weeks, at Silverstone, for the British Grand Prix.
