EUGENE LAVERTY, SATISFIED WITH THE WORK DONE TODAY, PUTS THE FOURTH TIME ON THE BOARD IN THE QUALIFIERS.

Monza, 4 May 2012 – First sessions and first time verdicts for Aprilia Racing Team in anticipation of the Monza races. The two Friday sessions showed very close standings, the result of a continuous back and forth of positions among the top ten riders. The first day of practice is usually dedicated to the search for a good base which is then refined over the rest of the weekend in order to take on the two races on Sunday in the best possible conditions.,

 Max Biaggi focused meticulously on adapting his RSV4 to the characteristics of the extremely fast Brianza track. A lot of laps and a lot of changes to the set up, suspension and electronics, so without aiming for the best time.

The eighth and seventh places in the two sessions do not worry Max: “I wasn’t particularly fast today, but I wasn’t so slow that it should create and alarm. The bike is beginning to work the way I like it. We definitely have good margin for improvement in order to catch up with the front runners. We’re talking about little tweaks, nothing radical. My mechanics and I will think about it and decide what the best strategy is now. Only having one bike certainly doesn’t simplify things. If I start pushing too hard and it starts raining, we’ll have to adapt as best we can”.

 Eugene Laverty, who demonstrated a good feeling with the Monza track right away, is also satisfied with the first day of sessions. Sixth in free practice and fourth in the qualifiers, the rider from Northern Ireland, despite some troubles in the first session, lived up to the expectations. Both the synergy with the Aprilia RSV4 and the pace that Eugene showed were excellent.

 “In the first session we had some small problems which slowed us down, but the qualifiers were just about perfect. I took a lot of laps, almost a full race’s worth, with good times even in the last laps. We still have room for improvement, but the foundation is definitely promising. I already have a better pace than the one that gave me a double win last year, so I’m satisfied with our work today”.

Monza – Qualifying times (1)

1. Michel Fabrizio ITA BMW Italia Goldbet S1000RR 1m 42.327s 

2. Marco Melandri ITA BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1m 42.380s

3. Leon Haslam GBR BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1m 42.523s
4. Eugene Laverty IRL Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1m 42.625s
5. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia Goldbet S1000RR 1m 42.690s
6. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 42.794s
7. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1m 42.844s
8. Chaz Davies GBR ParkinGO MTC Aprilia RSV-4 1m 43.228s
9. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1098R 1m 43.393s
10. Davide Giugliano ITA Althea Ducati 1098R 1m 43.408s
11. Jonathan Rea GBR Honda WSBK CBR1000RR 1m 43.410s
12. John Hopkins USA Crescent Fixi Suzuki GSX-R1000 1m 43.576s
13. Leon Camier GBR Crescent Fixi Suzuki GSX-R1000 1m 43.837s
14. David Salom ESP Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 43.943s
15. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 1m 44.042s
16. Jakub Smrz CZE Liberty Effenbert Ducati 1098R 1m 44.057s
17. Lorenzo Zanetti ITA PATA Ducati 1098R 1m 44.203s
18. Niccolo Canepa ITA Red Devils Ducati 1098R 1m 44.321s
19. Maxime Berger FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 1m 44.489s
20. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Honda WSBK CBR1000RR 1m 44.686s
21. Leandro Mercado ARG Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 45.156s
22. Mark Aitchison AUS Grillini Progea BMW S1000RR 1m 45.841
23. Sergio Gadea ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 48.085s

Monza official WSBK lap records
Best lap: Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia RSV-4 1m 41.745s (2011)
Race lap record: Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF-R1 1m 42.937s(2010)