From a press release issued by Aprilia:
Aprilia Racing Press Information
Valencia (Spain) – Private Tests
17 December 2002
Aprilia tests in Valencia with 2003 in its sights.
Colin Edwards.
Yet another session of winter tests right after the two sessions in Jerez de la Frontera. This time the venue is the Comunidad Valenciana. The two Aprilia works riders for the MotoGP 2003, Colin Edwards and Noriyuki Haga, were out on the track, the latter just back in Europe after his wedding in Japan. But the whole work group is in Valencia, with the technicians from Noale, and so is Jan Vitteveen, who mentioned some of the first details about the new features of the 125 and 250 bikes from the Racing Department in Noale.
“Next year, we’ll have a considerably redesigned Aprilia 125,” says Jan Witteveen. “Nothing revolutionary, even though a whole range of components on the bike will be completely new. We’ve got a new frame and a new fork, and the overall look of the bike has been restyled too – so there are new fairings with different aerodynamics, a new tank and new seat fairings. In the evolution of our racing 125, we’ve focused especially on one important aspect, and that’s the simplicity of the adjustments and settings, so everyone can get the very best out of their racing bikes with the greatest of ease. There are some new features on the 250, too: It’s going to have a new frame so that a greater number of adjustments can be made. We’d been getting pretty close to the limit in terms of settings so we needed a new project to give greater potential for working on the bike. The 250 will weigh in at 100 kg, in compliance with the regulations, and the carbon disc brakes will go. We’ve also worked a lot on the performance of the engines so as to boost the competitiveness of our bikes even further in both classes.”
Noriyuki Haga.
Heading the MotoGP work group is Ing. Gigi dall’Igna, who commented on the first day of tests in Valencia: “We were helped by good weather conditions – even though we were expecting slightly milder temperatures – and successfully completed today’s work schedule. Colin Edwards used the RS Cube 2003 to continue the work on the settings he had started in Jerez, while Noriyuki Haga used the 2002 configuration like last time. The Japanese went for two harmless slides that slowed down the tasks to be carried out by his work group, but we reckon we’ll be able to make up for lost time tomorrow. At the end, we’ll be able to take stock of the situation after this third round of winter tests.”
Aprilia private tests on the Valencia track come to an end tomorrow.
Spanish riders Fonsi Nieto and Toni Elias (Aprilia 250 Class), and Pablo Nieto and Hector Barbera (Aprilia 125 Class) are also taking part in the tests.
Colin Edwards – 75 laps – Best Time: 1:34.8
Noriyuki Haga – 36 laps – Best Time: 1:36.1