Development On The Rs-Gp Continues At Jerez: Bautista And Bradl Busy With A Day Of Post-Race Testing
With the race weekend at Jerez filed away with positive signs of growth for the bike, development work continues on the Aprilia RS-GP machines. Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl were busy with a day of testing on the same track where they had been racing this weekend. The Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders tested the first technical upgrades of the RS-GP, as well as new tyre options.
The RS-GP made its début on the eve of the first race, so it is only logical that the development of new solutions continues, the most visible of which (the aerodynamic winglets) were immediately popular with the riders who used them in practice and in the race. Despite the fact that the new Aprilia demonstrated the quality of the project from its very first laps, especially in terms of rideability, today Stefan and Alvaro worked on some chassis components, including a new frame and a new swingarm. These were tests dedicated to finding the best combination between the stiffness of the two elements and they are tests that, in private sessions, will continue in a few days on the Mugello track.
Bradl put in 66 laps in addition to the 62 ridden by his teammate Bautista, who also had a harmless crash in the first corner.
ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
“It was a rather intense day. We had a lot of things to test, beginning with the new frame and a new swingarm, new forks that are not as stiff, a lot of electronics settings and a fuel feed system with different pressure. We also focused on a few particular setups, solutions that are usually not tested during the race weekend. Overall we gathered a large amount of information, the first being that we are moving in different development directions for the two riders who are proving to have different needs. We’ll keep working in the coming days at Mugello, both with our official riders and with our test rider, Di Meglio, to see which combinations can be used already in the next race at Le Mans”.
FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
“A very profitable day of testing. Being on the track right after the race allowed us to make some very accurate comparisons and that helps streamline development. The results are positive: some components worked well so we’ll continue testing them at Mugello in order to see which upgrades to implement already for the Le Mans round. Aprilia is doing a great job and I am very pleased with the efforts of the entire team”.
ALVARO BAUTISTA
“The goal today was first and foremost to test a new frame and a swingarm with different stiffness. I must say that I found particular advantages with the frame, whereas the swingarm needs to be tested a bit more before we draw any final conclusions. As for the tyres, I still like he standard solutions better than the new ones, whereas the tests we did on the chassis today suggests which direction we need to go for upcoming developments. Working in order was important, given the number of tests”.
STEFAN BRADL
“We had a lot on our plate today, testing a lot of different components that Aprilia brought and a few tyre solutions. We found some good signs from the frame and swingarm and, although it was only our first contact, the initial impression is that we are moving in the right direction. In any case, we need to do a bit more testing to follow up and gather more information. In fact, we’ll analyse some of the components we tested today at Mugello as well”.
