WSB: Aprilia solid in Brno tests

Brno is Aprilia’s designated SBK test track, so the quick times put in by Max Biaggi and Shinya Nakano have to be metred by the fact that they have already completed hundreds of laps in testing there already – albeit pre-season.

Weather conditions were generally good although the rain fell on the afternoon of the final day (Thursday), cutting short the session by a couple of hours.

Despite a hairline crack in his right foot, Max Biaggi completed a total of 122 laps in the two days, the Italian getting down to a time of 2m 00.75.

He said: "It's a pity about the rain because it meant that we missed the last two hours. We could have done some more work. However we did get positive feedback, especially regarding the front suspension. I'm quite confident for the race at Brno at the end of the month, we've got another twenty days to work on the bike, this for us has more or less been the first real test since the start of the championship.”

Shinya Nakano did 135 laps, including 16 in the wet, and was just slower than Biaggi, with a time of 2m 00.78 set on the first day. The Japanese rider also had a crash from which he emerged unscathed.

Nakano said: "I am very satisfied. We tested a lot of engine and chassis components, and found improvements. The fact that we were there on our own allowed us to do a great job and really focus on the work. It will be interesting to test the new solutions at Imola against our main competitors."

All good so far, and the post-test love-in continued with Luigi Dall’Igna, Aprilia Racing Technical Director saying: "For sure it was a positive test. We tested a lot of electronic, suspension and chassis components on the RSV4. We'll be using them again at the Pirelli tests at Imola in a fortnight's time, and if they continue to give a good response we'll use them for the Brno race".